Elliot Barber – Sophomore, Sociopolitical Communications

“We are here, and we always have been,” says Elliot Barber, a passionate advocate for the LGBTQ+ and disabled communities. They have made it a goal to lift up the voices of the marginalized, and to bridge divides between their communities and those in power. Playing a part in the Ten Days of Trans Demands, sponsored by Missouri’s ACLU, Elliot helped lobby the state government to support trans rights in healthcare and sports. They also helped their friends with a mutual aid fund that collected and distributed nearly $30,000 for local minority communities.

Learn more about Elliot at their trans activism blog

Elliot has been extremely involved on campus as well. They have enjoyed extensive membership in the Bears Better Together and Ekklesia student groups, and their position on the campus Student Advisory Board, where they offer advice to administrators on how to be effective allies. As a library manager in the Multicultural Resource Center, they continued their activism by developing an intersectional book club. There, Elliot helps students to challenge their assumptions about race, gender, and many other aspects of one’s identity. After college, Elliot hopes to be a librarian where they can connect all sections of society with the free community resources that they need most.

Sign up or give feedback to the Intersectional Book Club

Interview and spotlight provided by Cole Howerton, Graduate Assistant, Office of Public Affairs Support.