RISE UP: CELEBRATING YOUNG LEADER ACTIVISTS – Kian Tortorello-Allen, age 17

Brian Prowse-Gany and Joyzel Acevedo
·Producers

From the civil rights movement to the Vietnam War protests and the fight for women’s rights, the youth of America have been at the forefront of leading and advocating for social change, and the young people of today are no different. In a new series titled Rise Up: Celebrating Young Leader Activists, Yahoo News profiles five up-and-coming leaders from the Gen Z and millennial generations, with our fourth installment featuring 17-year-old Kian Tortorello-Allen of Mount Kisco, NY.

Although he never knew his name, Kian Tortorello-Allen hasn’t forgotten the trans high school senior he looked up to in the eighth grade. “That was kinda my indicator that, ‘Oh, maybe you can come out.’” Initially, Kian identified as a lesbian. “I came out as, like, a slew of queer labels,” he recalls. “Now I identify as a homosexual, transgender male.” Reaching that point of self-discovery, however, was not easy: In the eighth grade, Kian had rocks thrown at him, and in his freshman year of high school, he had to face the brunt of racist, homophobic bullying from a group of boys. “At that point,” he says, “I was really like: I can either stand up for what I believe in, or I can literally never go to school again and drop out.”

Kian picked the former option, and devoted himself to activism. He joined GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network, and became part of a group of 18 students who worked toward making schools more LGBTQ-inclusive nationwide. He also worked with TSER, Trans Student Educational Resources, a grassroots organization focused on advocating for trans people of color. “Once I realized that I had the ability to work with nonprofits really powerfully, I realized that I also have my own voice, and I can make my own platforms,” he says. “And I may be 17, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t have something to say and that I can’t have my voice be heard.”

Inspired by black LGBTQ civil rights pioneers from the 1960s, like Bayard Rustin and Marsha P. Johnson, Kian learned that good leadership means being willing to listen. He notes that, more often than not, those in positions of power don’t identify with multiple marginalized communities. “It’s really important that people that hold the power are actually listening to people that are most affected.”

Kian says that combining arts with activism is something he doesn’t see often – and that he wants to change that. As a musician, he has been part of a classical music band that plays with kids all over New York City, especially those from socioeconomically disadvantaged communities. “It’s really cool to walk into a room where I’m not the only brown person with a flute, ’cause that had never happened to me before. And it got me to thinking about the fact that music can bring together communities” — often in ways that are surprising and revealing.

“I’m African-American,” continues Kian. “I’m very light-skinned, so people don’t really associate that with me. But the black community is portrayed as very aggressive, and you have to be a certain way, and tough, and in reality, that’s not what’s going on at all. We’re musical and artistic, and beautiful.” Kian is also a painter, drawing everything from cityscapes to portraits. “I think all forms of art, whether it be poetry, or fine arts, or especially music — they’re very healing, and they’re not only healing, but they’re very powerful and strong.”

In the future, Kian hopes to start a nonprofit for trans people of color. “In my freshman year, I was one of three trans kids in my [high]school, and my school has 1,500 kids. Now that I’m a senior, I’m looking and there’s four or five underclassmen that are openly trans, which is really cool.”

Representation, Kian believes, is key for the trans community. “It makes me feel less invisible,” he explains. “It makes me feel loved, and accepted, and validated.”