Henry Berg-Brousseau

Henry Spilman Berg-Brousseau (March 9, 1998 – December 16, 2022) was an American transgender rights activist and nonprofit spokesperson who is widely known for speaking out against a Kentucky bathroom bill at age 16.

Born and raised in Kentucky, Berg-Brousseau came out as a trans man at the beginning of his freshman year while attending Louisville Collegiate School. After graduating from George Washington University, he went on to work for the Human Rights Campaign as the deputy press secretary for politics. His suicide in 2022 received international media attention and led to the condemnation of anti-trans laws in the United States.

Early life and education Henry Berg-Brousseau was born on March 9, 1998, in Louisville, Kentucky, to Robert Brousseau and Karen Berg. He graduated from the Louisville Collegiate School in 2016.

Achievements In 2015, Berg-Brousseau began interning at the Fairness Campaign, a lobbying and advocacy organization, focusing primarily on preventing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. He organized a protest against conversion therapy and participated in many discussions around transgender rights at the local and national level. When discussing the bill, he stated:

Portions of his testimony were featured by John Oliver during a segment of his show, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.

In 2021, during his time with the Human Rights Campaign in Washington D.C., Berg-Brosseau focused on political communication. His mother, Karen Berg, a member of the Kentucky Senate, commented on his death saying that he, "long struggled with mental illness, not because he was trans but born from his difficulty finding acceptance."

His funeral service was held at the Herman Meyer & Son Funeral home in his hometown of Louisville, on December 21, 2022.