Testimonial: Laquetta “Elle” Travis | The Activist

Growing up on the eastside of Detroit, Laquetta “Elle” Travis had seen a lot. “So much happens there, some of it good, some of bad,” she shares. “I was sexually assaulted twice — once when I was 19 and again when I was 22 — and I reported those rapes in 2006 and again in 2008, but nothing ever happened. …

Avalon Blog

It’s Time To Change The Narrative

“Still I Rise.” – Maya Angelou My name is Trinea Gonczar, and I am one of the hundreds of survivors of what is known as the first major public case of sexual violence at the hands of the former United States Olympic team doctor and Michigan State University team doctor, Larry Nassar. As a child, I was molested over 850 …

once a gymnast always a gymnast

Once a gymnast, always a gymnast

“Once a gymnast, always a gymnast,” they say. I hold that close to my heart. From the time I was 8 to when I turned 17, I trained on “the team,” an extremely competitive, handpicked group of elite gymnasts who represented the Great Lakes Gymnastics Club in Lansing, Michigan. Parents would drive from hours away and spend nights in hotels, or …