LGBT Gang Members Explain How It Gets Better

Members of a gay gang called the Check It have a message to LGBT youth: It gets better.

Skittles, Gia, Star, Drama, and Tray have collaborated with the It Gets Better Project in order to share their journeys and give hope to the next generation.

They are the subjects of Check It, a new documentary about LGBT young people in Washington, D.C., who formed a gang for survival. Executive-produced by Steve Buscemi and recently released by Louis C.K. on his website, LouisCK.net, the film shows how the gang is both a community of support and a result of the systemic marginalization of many queer youth of color.

The film also demonstrates how friends and community members are helping the members of Check It to create a future beyond the gang and streets — and how these young people are finding their own will to survive and thrive.

"I’m here on this earth to survive, to prove people wrong, to let people know I’m the person I’m going to be," said Star, a transgender subject of the documentary, in the It Gets Better video. "Never doubt yourself," she told other young people. "Don’t give up."

Check It is now available on LouisCK.net. Hear Star's story below, and watch the rest of the It Gets Better videos on YouTube.