CIVIL RIGHTS
Trans Visibility Day Emphasizes Black Lives, Election
Community groups, leaders, advocates nationwide gather online for second annual event
BY MATT TRACY
During a virtual edition
of the second annual
National Trans Visibility
March that featured
a tour of trans-inclusive organizations,
two messages were reiterated
throughout the broadcast: The
urgent need to protect trans lives
and the importance of voting up
and down the ballot in this year’s
election.
Early in the hours-long October
3 broadcast, viewers were presented
with a series of images paying
tribute to many transgender and
non-binary individuals, many of
them people of color, who lost their
lives this year. Faith leaders and
others invoked the persistent trend
of violence targeting Black transgender
individuals during a broadcast
that included voices spanning
Zakia K. McKensey, founder of the Richmond, Virginia-based Nationz Foundation.
the nation.
Hope Giselle, the host and communications
coordinator of the
march, led a group on a bus tour
throughout Washington, DC, where
folks made pit stops for interviews
YOUTUBE/ NATIONAL TRANS VISIBILITY MARCH
with individuals such as Addison
Moore, the drop-in center program
manager at Smyal, an organization
that serves LGBTQ youth in
Washington. Moore noted that the
group has worked diligently during
the coronavirus pandemic to
continue supporting local youth
through virtual options.
“Right now it’s especially important
to adapt to young people’s
needs,” Moore said. “We want to
continue to make sure these spaces
we are creating are going to fulfi
ll the needs of young people.”
Groups from outside of Washington
participated virtually, such
as those representing the Unspoken
Treasure Society’s chapter in
Gainesville, Florida, where the
wide-ranging service provider’s offerings
include HIV/ AIDS testing
and prevention efforts.
“What we do here is provide safe
spaces for trans women and men
of color,” said Regina Livingston,
the group’s founder and CEO. “We
provide COVID relief, temporary
➤ TRANS VISIBILITY, continued on p.15
October 8 - October 22, 2 14 020 | GayCityNews.com
/GayCityNews.com
