Araujo name change request granted
Kelly St. John, Chronicle Staff Writer


A court commissioner has granted a Newark mother's request to posthumously change the name of a slain transgender teen from Eddie Araujo Jr. to Gwen Amber Rose Araujo, her family announced this morning.

The order by Alameda County Superior Court Commissioner Thomas Surh was issued June 23 -- one day after the murder trial of three men accused of killing Araujo ended in a mistrial -- though Araujo's family did not learn of Surh's decision until later.

Araujo's mother, Sylvia Guerrero, had requested the name change at a hearing on May 25. In a statement, Guerrero said she was "elated." Surh agreed to her request.

"It is one of my regrets that I didn't call my daughter Gwen more while she was alive," Guerrero said in the statement. "Having this order granted helps me to put that regret to rest."


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Discrimination is still legal


Q: A friend of mine told me about a job at Agave Restaurant on Woodward and Canfield. My friend told me he was looking for cooks and told me to ask for Matt. I was told to come over to Agave at 2:00 p.m. When I arrived over to the job, I asked for Matt. Matt came out and saw that I was a transgender. He told me that he could not give me the job because he has an open kitchenÑand that I could not dress like a woman.

Jody, I live as a woman. What does he mean! I want to know what to do about this. I don't want him to get away with this. How can he just outright discriminate? I am a transgender and proud of who I am. Who can I go to in order to see what I can do about this? It is all right for me to go and spend my money there, but it is not all right for me to work there. Agave discriminates against Transgenders!

Walking Tall

A: I'm not sure what you legally can do about it. You would have to consult a lawyer. However, this letter tells your story and will reach a lot of people. I'm sorry that this happened to you. I asked a staff member of Between The Lines (since I'm not from the Detroit area) about this restaurant. He said that all he knew was that it was "gay friendly," but not lgbt owned. I guess it is " lgb" friendly, but the "t" seems to be missing in Agave's case, at least for employment opportunities.