Queer Stockton

by Elena Kelly, Chapter Leader,Marriage Equality USA, San Joaquin

In the fortieth anniversary year of the Stonewall riots in New York City, over 200 transgender leaders converged on the UC San Diego campus for a three-day leadership summit. The theme was “Building Powerful Transgender Communities,” and the program certainly reflected that purpose nicely.

Opening night showcased two women who have certainly made their mark in transgender community. Susan Stryker, historian, film maker, and Professor of Gender Studies at Indiana University opened with a Power Point that gave the crowd a thumbnail sketch of the history of transpeople in the U.S. with a focus primarily on the heroes of the movement who stood up for the right to live their truth.

Following Susan, Sylvia Guerrero, the mother of the murdered teenage transwoman Gwen Araujo, spoke. Since her daughter’s death, Sylvia has dedicated her life to championing transgender causes and working to end the violence that takes the lives of too many transgender people. She shared footage from Gwen’s life, and spoke of her work to spread the message that transgender people deserve the same respect and dignity as everyone else.

Saturday sessions began with a bang, as Masen Davis, Executive Director of the Transgender Law Center in San Francisco, unveiled for the first time, the results of TLC’s 2008 statewide transgender survey to ascertain the economic health of the California transgender community. Some of the findings were:

• · While transgender Californians have been legally protected against workplace harassment and discrimination since 2004, 70% of the transgender community reported being the victim of workplace harassment or discrimination.
• · Transgender people are more than twice as likely as the general population in California to hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, but transgender people are twice as likely to be living below the poverty line (less than $10,400 annually). 1 in 5 respondents reported becoming homeless since they first identified as transgender.
• · California prohibits discrimination in medical care based on gender identity, but a whopping 30% reported postponing needed care for illness or injury due to disrespect or discrimination from doctors or other health care providers.
• · Transgender people have a 14% unemployment rate, compared to 7% statewide.
• · 11% have been denied access to restrooms that matched their identity.
• · 31% of the transgender homeless who tried to stay in shelters report that they were denied access and 40% of those who got in reported being attacked by the staff or other residents.

The survey demonstrated the dire need for training in places of employment, in healthcare, in shelters, and to the general public. Transgender people are better educated than the general population. A movement is needed in the transgender community to address these inequities.

The remainder of the day on Saturday was filled with workshops with titles like “Responding to Violence,” “Advocating for Trans Inclusive Healthcare,” “Trans Self Empowerment,” “Media & the Trans Community,” “Social Justice at the United Nations,” “Safe Schools Now,” “Peeing in Peace,” and the ones I attended, “Transgender Advocacy 101, parts 1 & 2.”

The evening speakers were advocates and activists, one on the local level in the San Francisco Bay area, the other on the national level in Washington, DC. Miss Major is an elder, black, formerly imprisoned male-to-female transperson. She has been active in the transgender community for forty years and is currently the Community Organizing Director at TGI Justice Project where she instills hope and a belief in a better future to incarcerated girls and those coming home.

Mara Keisling, Executive Director of National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) closed the evenings sessions. She shared a story with the crowd that had them on their feet in applause. One day recently she was working in her office and the phone rang. It was President Obama’s aide. He told Mara that the President was going to sign a proclamation honoring women and children. He wanted to know if Mara could come for the ceremony because he wanted to include a transgender woman as well.

She spoke of the relative openness of Congress right now, and how they are very interested in transgender issues. They had been watching the vote in Gainesville, Florida to see if transgender people would remain a class of people protected against discrimination. There was a huge push by the opposition to compare the use of gender appropriate restrooms with perverts and child abusers. But Amendment 1 was soundly defeated by the voters, who saw through the nonsense and stood for equality.

The final day of the summit, Sunday, started with a panel of transgender religious leaders (an appropriate way to begin a Sunday). The common theme among them was that transgender people of faith need to speak up in their congregations and work to bring about reconciliation.

The Summit closed with Shannon Minter, Attorney and Legal Director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), one of the nation’s leading advocacy organizations for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. He spoke of his confidence that because we now have a president that supports LGBT equality, we will have an inclusive ENDA, and we will have federal hate crimes legislation in this term. He said there is still far too much poverty, homelessness, HIV, incarcerations, and violence affecting the transgender community. He said there are three things we need to focus on:

1. We are not helpless victims. As Mr. Obama said, “We are the ones we have been waiting for.” We need to claim our place at the table.

1. We should focus on how to make things go right, instead of criticizing when things go wrong.

1. We can build a community where every person counts, no one left behind. Again quoting Mr. Obama, “Our individual salvation depends on our collective salvation.”

Dylan Scholinski was born Daphne Scholinski. He spoke after Mr. Minter. He shared his work with troubled LGBT youth in the Denver area. He founded sent(a)mental studios where he frequently opens his art studio to provide a safe space for youth to explore and discover ways of expressing and empowering themselves without bringing harm to themselves or others. He has been instrumental in averting numerous suicides, and founded the Sent(a)Mental Project: A Memorial to Suicide.

Cecilia Chung wrapped up the summit with humor and sincerity. She is the founder of Trans March, the largest transgender event on Pride weekend in San Francisco, and she is also Chair of the Human Rights Commission of the City and County of San Francisco. She said that all changes start with the courage and commitment of an individual. Every person has a purpose for being in this world. We can help others discover their unique purpose and potential. She said that we all want our voices to be heard, but we have to listen to what others have to say too. Only then are we on the way to building a world without hate and discrimination.