Justin Mosley

21-year-old Justin Mosley is running for public office in Angelina County as an openly-gay man

Tammye Nash | Managing Editor
nash@dallasvoice.com
Let’s be honest: No one is going to look at the Deep East Texas Pineywoods region any time soon and say, yeah, here’s a place that’s a bastion of equality for LGBT people. But 21-year-old Justin Mosley is working hard to change that, and he hopes to continue his fight as an elected official.
Mosley is the Democratic nominee for Precinct 2 justice of the peace in Angelina County, a county of about 87,000 people situated in the heart of the Pineywoods, with the city of Lufkin as its county seat. Mosley faces Republican incumbent Donnie Puckett, who was unopposed in the GOP primary, in the general election in November.
Although he has nothing bad to say about his Republican opponent in the race for JP, Mosley said he believes he is the better man for the job. “I’m just more focused on equality and establishing a diverse court in the East Texas area,” where most public offices are held by older, white male Republicans, he said.
Despite the area’s conservative bent, though, Mosley said so far he hasn’t faced any public backlash over his sexual orientation, and his opponent has not tried to make an issue of it.
Mosley’s father was in the U.S. Navy, stationed in Whidbey Island, Wash., when Mosley was born. But he was only six months old when his dad decided to return to his roots by moving his family back to the Lufkin area where he had grown up. Mosley said he started school in Hudson — a small town just outside of Lufkin — and except for his third grade year, finished his primary school education there.
When he was in third grade, Mosley said, his parents divorced and he moved away with his mother. But, he said, “I quickly came back to Lufkin to attend fourth grade at Hudson Elementary.”
Even though his mother lived away, she was a source of moral support through the years, he said, and “My grandparents and dad helped get me through the rest of educational career.”
Mosley said he graduated from the Family Consumer Science Division of Hudson High School, then went on to Angelina College. He plans to transfer eventually to a larger university to major in political science.
“Being a gay man in East Texas hasn’t always been easy,” Mosley acknowledged. “There were times I didn’t even want to get out of bed, fearing for my life and wondering if I would get bullied that day just because I was a happy, out-going queen,” he said. He said he has endured numerous homophobic attacks through the years, from having “faggot” spray-painted on his family’s driveway to being verbally attacked for his “mannerisms.”
Mosley said he knew from a very young age that he was “different.” And in eighth grade he finally decided to come out.
“I finally said, ‘I’m gay, and I really don’t care if you like it or not. This is who I am, and I will live my life freely.’
“That’s when I started telling people I was gay,” he continued. “Most of my family had just figured it out along the way.
But for years, my dad really didn’t like the idea, and we had a lot of heated battles over the years about my sexuality. But he’s learned to get over the fact that I’m gay, and now he embraces me, loves me and supports me — as a father should!”
Mosley said that when he started at Angelina College, he was “shocked” to discover the school offered no support for its LGBT student community. So he and some other students “took it upon ourselves to organize an LGBTQ and ally support group — POET, Pride of East Texas — for the whole Angelina County area.
He has also, he said, participated in other events and organizations through the years, and hopes in his campaign to spotlight some of those political activism efforts. He participated in the 2017 Women’s March to support civil rights for women, LGBTQ people and other minorities, and was “a voice for teachers” during the Texas Legislature’s 2017 special session.
“I went to Austin with a county official and an art teacher from Lufkin High School to meet with Trent Ashby, my representative at the Capitol, to discuss the future for our Texas teachers and public education,” he said. “That led me to work for the American Federation of Teachers, and I staged my own protest to oppose the bathroom bills in the Texas Legislature.
“I have also been very active in the local Democratic Party and I will be a delegate to the upcoming Democratic State Convention,” he added.
But it was Election Day in November 2016 that really set his course, Mosley said.
“I made the decision to run for office on Nov. 8, 2016,” he declared. “After seeing the results [of the presidential election], a flame went off inside me. I knew then I was going to run for public office some day and dedicate my life to public service.
“That day is now, and I couldn’t be more proud or happier about my candidacy,” he continued. “I’ve always had a heart for all people. I’ve always wanted change. It is up to the younger generation, at this point, to start the revolution and it’s time for young leaders to step up to lead and to serve the great United States of America.”
Mosley said he is being realistic about his chances of winning in November — “I have about a 50/50 shot of winning this office” — but win or lose, it won’t be the end of his political career.
“I will most definitely run for office again,” he said. “This experience is invaluable to me, whether I win this race or not.
“It is critical that more LGBTQ individuals start running for office in these rural areas,” Mosley continued. “We have to start changing and educating these small towns on LGBTQ issues and progressive matters. By doing this, we, as a nation, will be more prosperous.”
For more information, visit Justin Mosley’s Facebook page, @JustinForJustice, or follow him on Twitter, @JustinForJP2.