One of the privileges of being part of San Francisco Pride is the opportunity to watch history take place - again, and again, and again. It somewhat bothers me that its so easy to make a first in 2014, but I guess thats the nature of a civil rights movement thats only beginning to take root in the larger culture. This was a big one - we added four more days of awareness to The Citys cultural calendar, and we have to do everything we can to make this a yearly tradition until the day its no longer necessary. There is an epidemic of violence against transgender people, and in particular, transgender women of color in this country and beyond, and these gentle pastels belie the blood, brutality and terror they faced in their final moments. The same day I received the news about these lights from the Special Events office at City Hall, I found a video in my Facebook stream that showed two african american transgender women being attacked on an Atlanta light rail train. It was presented as entertainment, as spectacle, and the comments were beyond ignorant - they were horrifying in their disregard for the humanity of the people being assaulted. It was a painful reminder of how far we need to go. Working on SF Pride 2014, I was humbled and inspired by a generation of amazing, dedicated community leaders who worked night (literally) and day to raise awareness and fight for visibility: Gwen Park, Jamie Rafaela Wolfe, Tracy Garza, Danielle Castro, Fresh White, Isa Noyola, Breanna Elyce Sinclairé, Quinonez Christina, Maria Roman, Luis Gutierrez-Mock, Clair Farley, Cecilia Chung, and so many more, I could write all night. This was a big win for all of us!
Posted on: Sat, 22 Nov 2014 04:56:08 +0000
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