New Yorkers Join National Fight for Trans Equality
By Brett Krutzsch
NY Blade
Friday, May 18, 2007

Personal stories of harassment and discrimination were a uniting theme Tuesday night at the LGBT Center in Chelsea during a panel titled “Clock In/Speak Out: Gaining Momentum for Workplace Equality in New York and the U.S.”

Almost 50 people attended the discussion on transgender rights, sponsored by the LGBT legal advocacy group Lambda Legal. The debut program was one of seven flagship events across the country that took place on Tuesday to raise awareness for the  Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). Introduced in Congress on April 24, ENDA could make it illegal to fire, prevent promotion, or refuse to hire anyone based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

At Tuesday’s event, the panel discussed key issues facing the transgender community, including problems with the healthcare system, workplace discrimination, and harassment of transgender youth in New York City schools.

“As an American citizen, I can work just like anyone else,” said panelist Elizabeth Rivera, Program Coordinator of TransJustice at the Audre Lorde Project. Rivera, who is transgender, said it can be very difficult to get a job when you are in an “in-between state” of male and female.

New York is one of 17 states that ban discrimination based on sexual orientation. However, explicit statewide employment protection for transgender individuals does not exist.

Transgender youths are also at risk, and are not protected under New York State  law. Truman High School student Andy Santana, who identifies as “gender queer,” has been verbally and physically assaulted by other students, and said complaints to school officials have fallen on deaf ears. Santana said that when he was jumped by another student in a stairwell, “There was a security guard who saw me screaming, and walked away.”

“Fear of going to school harms people,” said Michael Silverman, executive director of the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund. “You are less likely to be hired if you don’t have the skill set you need.”

Panel moderator and chair of the New York Association for Gender Rights and Advocacy (NYAGRA), Pauline Park, said that, “Since so many transgender people are forced out of high school, they don’t go to college. It’s no surprise that so many transgender people are forced into sex work or extremely low-paying work.”

Santana’s experience at Truman High School in the Bronx captured the attention of the audience and became a focal point for much of the evening.

“Gay bashing definitely happens,” Santana said. “Gay and transgender students in my school get their names posted on a wall by other kids. After a student gets jumped, their name gets crossed off.”

Park said her group has sponsored trainings related to transgender issues at Truman High School, but, “The principal has been hostile since day one,” and that the “Department of Education doesn’t do anything to take these issues seriously.”

Hayley Gorenberg, the deputy legal director of Lambda Legal, wanted the audience to know that transgender people can still take cases to court in states such as New York where there aren’t specific laws to protect transgender individuals.

“People are discriminated against all the time without knowing we have tools to fight,” she said.

The evening ended with a call to action. People were encouraged to sign a petition in support of ENDA. Everyone was also given information about New York State’s Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA) that would protect against discrimination based on gender identity and gender expression in employment, housing, credit, public accommodations and education. Those present were given phone numbers of State Assembly members on the Codes Committee who will be voting on the issue.

Marcy Farrell, who volunteers with the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, said that panel gave “all of us enough courage to be public about our transgenderness and to advocate for understanding, to be seen as human beings, despite our gender issues.”

Maurice Harrison, who was also in the audience, wished that the event could have been held somewhere other than the LGBT Center. “We have problems with the heterosexual community,” Harrison said. “And they have no idea about these meetings.”

Leslie Gabel-Brett, director of education and public Affairs at Lambda Legal, said she hopes Santana’s and others’ stories “raise visibility of transgender issues, and generate more activism on the state and national level.”

As Santana said before the panel ended, “If I had transferred out of the school, I would have shown my bashers that they had won.”

Now Santana’s story is inspiring others to fight for transgender individuals.

This article originally appeared in the New York Blade on 18 May 2007; the Blade is now defunct.

The post New Yorkers Join National Fight for Trans Equality (NY Blade, 5.18.07) appeared first on Pauline Park.

In November 2009, Iowa commemorated the first Transgender Day of Remembrance in the history of the state, and I  was honored to have been invited to speak at a number of events that were organized as part of that commemoration. The central event was the TDOR on the steps of the Iowa state capitol on November 20, organized by Sandy Vopalka, the executive director of Equality Iowa, and her colleagues at The Center (a project of Equality Iowa). In the speech I gave on the steps of the state capitol, I noted the enormous losses that the transgender community has suffered but also the gains.

November 20: TDOR on the steps of the Iowa state capitol…

Preston Daniels — the first African American mayor of Des Moines who in March was appointed director of the Iowa Department of Human Rights — read a proclamation from Governor Chet Culver declaring the day Transgender Day of Remembrance in Iowa. The moving ceremony included mention of the suicide of Jeff Lanman, the transman who led the Transformations Iowa group until his death earlier in the year. Following the TDOR ceremony, participants reconvened at the Center for a potluck dinner.

…at Iowa State University for the TDOR on campus…

Earlier on Nov. 20, I spoke at Iowa State University at a TDOR event organized by Brad Freihoefer, coordinator of the Office of LGBT Student Services — the only full-time LGBT student services coordinator at any college or university in the state — and his intern, Leah. Later in the afternoon, I spoke at Grand View University in Des Moines, courtesy of Dr. Carrie Berg, assistant professor of biology at Grand View and faculty advisor to the PRIDE student group.

The Center

The other events of an event-filled week included a welcoming reception for me at The Center on Nov. 18 followed by a private meeting with Transformations Iowa (the transgender group that meets regularly at The Center) and screenings of “Envisioning Justice: The Journey of a Transgendered Woman” at the Center on Nov. 19 and 21.

…inside the Center…

And on Nov. 22, there was yet another screening of the documentary about my life and work, hosted by the Interweave (LGBT) group at the First Unitarian Church of Des Moines, followed by a Q&A.

On No. 21, I joined Prof. Sandra Patton-Imani of Drake University in co-facilitating a workshop at Lambda Legal’s “Around the Table”: Iowa’s First Annual Summit of LGBT Families & Allies; our workshop on transracial and intercountry adoption featured a screening of Sandi’s interesting and worthwhile video on transracial adoption, “BirthMarks.”  Afterwards, I brought Hector Vargas and Simon Aronoff of Lambda over to The Center for a tour of the facility.

Lisa Hardaway, Hector Vargas, Pauline Park & Simon Aronoff at the Lambda Legal LGBT family summit in Des Moines on Nov. 21

And did I mention the Ritual Café? Ritual is lesbian-owned, transgender-friendly, and only a block from The Center. A live music venue, Ritual has some of the best raspberry chocolate brownies on the planet.

Ritual Café in downtown Des Moines

I also found time to take in the Des Moines Art Center and the Iowa State Historical Museum as well as the charming shops of the East Village in downtown Des Moines.

…charming shops in Des Moines’ East Village…

It was a wonderful week, and Sandy Vopalka of Equality Iowa deserves much of the credit for that. I feel honored to have been invited to participate in a historic event in the life of the LGBT community of Iowa.

Des Moines downtown view from the steps of the state capitol…

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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.

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