On Friday, November 20, Iowa will commemorate the first Transgender Day of Remembrance in the history of the state. I am honored to have been invited to speak at a number of events that have been organized as part of that commemoration.

On Wednesday, November 18, there will be a welcoming reception at The Center, followed by a private meeting with TransformationsIOWA, the transgender support group at the LGBT community center.  On Thursday, Nov. 19, from 8:30–9:30 p.m., there will be a  screening of “Envisioning Justice: The Journey of a Transgendered Woman” at The Center.

Friday (Nov. 20) will include the key events commemorating the Transgender Day of Remembrance:

12–1 p.m.:  Iowa State University (ISU) TDOR event in Ames
2–3:30 p.m. Grandview University TDOR event in Des Moines
5:15–6 p.m.:  Iowa State Capitol (west side)
6:30–8 p.m.:  potluck at The Center

The events have been organized by Equality Iowa‘s executive director, Sandy Vopalka and Jayden McCurnin, the Transgender Outreach Coordinator at The Center, where the potluck dinner and the screening of the documentary about my life and work will be held. There will be a second screening of the film on Saturday:

10 a.m.-12 p.m.: screening of “Envisioning Justice: The Journey of a Transgendered Woman” at The Center; coffee & donuts

And on Saturday afternoon (Nov. 21), I will be participating in Iowa’s First Annual Summit of LGBT Families & Allies, organized by Lambda Legal:

1-2:10 p.m.: Transracial Adoption in LGBTQ Families:  The Challenges of Traversing Boundaries: workshop with Sandra Patton-Imani, Associate Professor of American Studies at Drake University and author of “BirthMarks:  Transracial Adoption in Contemporary America”

On Sunday (Nov. 22), I will be speaking at a forum and lunch:

11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.:  forum and lunch at the First Unitarian Church of Des Moines

As a member of All Souls Unitarian in Manhattan, I am delighted to have the opportunity to speak with fellow UUs, including members of the Interweave (LGBT affinity group) chapter at First Unitarian.

This will be only my third trip to the Hawkeye State, and I’m excited to be participating in all of these events. I am especially gratified to have the honor to speak at events commemorating the first Transgender Day of Remembrance in the history of the state.

The post Iowa’s First Transgender Day of Remembrance appeared first on Pauline Park.

“Envisioning Justice: The Journey of a Transgendered Woman” tells the story of Pauline Park, tracing her life from her birth in Korea and her adoption by European American parents. In the summer of 2006, Park and Tung went back to the south side of Milwaukee to visit the house where she was raised, the first time that she had been inside her childhood home since 1981; they also visited the elementary school, junior high and high school that she attended in her youth. The documentary traces her childhood and adolescence in Milwaukee to her first coming out, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and then her experiences living in London and attending the London School of Economics. The film then examines Park’s activism, including her work with the New York Association for Gender Rights Advocacy (NYAGRA) and hr leadership of the campaign for passage of Intro No. 24, the transgender rights ordinance enacted by the New York City Council as Local Law 3 of 2002. “Envisioning Justice” concludes with interviews with friends, family and colleagues and candid reflections life and love from Pauline Park herself.

The documentary ultimately premiered at NewFest (the New York LGBT Film Festival) on 15 June 2008 and then made its West Coast premiere at the historic Castro Theatre on June 23 as part of Frameline – the San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival. Since then, “Envisioning Justice” has been screened at numerous film festivals, including:

The Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF) (8.6.2008)
https://riiff2008.withoutabox.com/festivals/event_item.php?id=17484

Translations: The Seattle Transgender Film Festival (5.7.2009)
http://www.threedollarbillcinema.org/08/translations

The documentary has also screened in venues ranging from colleges and universities to churches and community centers:

Queens Pride House (a Center for the LGBT Communities of Queens) (1.9.2009)
http://tldef.org/publications_thiny_show.php?id=28

Lehman College (City University of New York) (3.26.2009)
http://www.lehman.edu/lehman/enews/2009_03_23/feat_lgbt.html

http://www.norwoodnews.org/story/?id=1401&story=out+about

All Souls Unitarian Church, Manhattan (4.5.2009)
http://www.allsoulsnyc.org/religioused/adulted.htm

Southern Connecticut State University (64 Days of Nonviolence) (4.13.2009)
http://www.southernct.edu/womensstudies/64daysofnonviolence/

The Long Island GLBT Community Center (Transgender Voices & Visibility Series) (5.9.2009)
http://www.liglbtcenter.org/content.php?pgID=440

The documentary has also been favorably reviewed on-line:

Lincoln Madison (Film Queen Reviews, 6.23.2008)
http://queerfilm.blogspot.com/2008/06/envisioning-justice-journey-of.html

For more information about the documentary, contact Pauline Park (through the contact page on this website) or Larry Tung (through the contact page on his website):
http://www.larrytung.com/documentary-envisioning-justice.html

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