Meet the gay man who will be Tennessee's first out LGBTQ+ school board member

Democrat Zach Young is slated to become the first out LGBTQ+ school board member in Tennessee.

Young, 32, is running unopposed for his seat in the Metro Nashville school board's third district, solidifying his spot in history. The politician served as a Goodlettsville City Commissioner for seven years, beginning in 2012, and was a member of the Nashville-Davidson County Metro Council from 2019 to 2023. Young lost his Metro Council seat to Jennifer Frensley Webb in the August general election after his district was redrawn to include more Republican voters.

Young recently told Axiosthat he was motivated to run for his local school board after being approached by outgoing member Emily Masters following the loss of his council seat. He was further inspired after attending a conference hosted by Victory Fund, a political action committee dedicated to electing out LGBTQ+ public officials.

"I was beginning to hear how school boards are becoming front lines of the fight to maintain LGBTQ equality in our country," he said. "While I was there, I called [Masters] back and said, 'Maybe I'm growing a wild hair, but things are starting to feel right.'"

Tennessee currently has laws banning transgender athletes from competing on school sports teams under their gender identity, requiring public school employees to out queer students to their guardians, and prohibiting trans students from using the bathrooms or changing facilities that reflect their gender. A law that would have prevented teachers from displaying rainbow Pride flags was considered in the most recent legislative session, but conservative lawmakers were not able to push it through.

Tennessee's Republican attorney general is among those from 20 conservative states that have filed lawsuits against the Biden administration for expanding Title IX protections to apply to transgender students. The new rules would ensure that trans students could use their chosen pronouns and have access to their preferred restrooms and changing facilities.

Young added that he's proud to become part of the board at this moment in time, "especially in an environment like the one we're in in Tennessee."