[somber music]
- On a hot night in June 1969,
police raided the Stonewall Inn
in Greenwich Village, New York.
But this time,
rather than be arrested,
the queens and street kids
fought back.
The riots that ensued
are considered the beginning
of the LGBTQ movement
in America.
But the movement
has much deeper roots.
Three years before Stonewall,
in August 1966,
trans people at Compton's
Cafeteria in San Francisco
also rioted against the police.
Late at night, when
trans people congregated there,
police would routinely
harass them in their sanctuary.
But on this night,
led by trans women
and femmes of color,
the community resisted.
Similar but lesser-known
uprising occurred in Los Angeles
at Cooper's Donuts in 1959
and at The Black Cat in 1967
and in Philadelphia
at Dewey's restaurant in 1965.
There are probably many other
such events yet to be uncovered.
They remind us
of our courageous history
of resisting institutionalized
bullying and oppression.
In the decades that followed,
trans people largely remained
in the shadows,
quietly contributing to society.
Our community was still denied
employment, housing,
health care,
and legal protection--
essentially,
the basic right to live.
Yet even when they
were criminalized
by anti-cross-dressing
and anti-loitering laws,
our transcestors, including
Miss Major, Marsha P. Johnson,
Sylvia Rivera,
and Flawless Sabrina, survived.
They all spent time in jail
because they dared
to be themselves
when our society made it a crime
to deviate from gender norms.
But time marched forward,
and so did they,
passing along
their survival strategies.
And today trans people
are more visible than ever.
Though our lives and bodies
are sometimes celebrated,
we remain
more often targeted.
In schools, harassment
often forces trans students
to drop out.
Federal and state governments
act as bullies too,
now rescinding guidance
to schools
on how to protect trans students
and passing harmful laws
banning trans people
from common restrooms.
Epidemics of homelessness, HIV,
and incarceration
constrain
the survival opportunities
for trans women of color.
The murder rate
of trans women of color
increases
with every passing year.
Rather than invest
in our survival,
the new administration
has attempted
to both literally
and figuratively delete us
and has ignored requests
to investigate
the escalating violence
against us.
Only 18 states explicitly
and comprehensively
protect trans people
from discrimination.
Many other state lawmakers
are focused
on targeting us
for more discrimination.
In 2017, lawmakers in 22 states
introduced more than 50 bills
restricting the rights
of trans people.
Even as these lawmakers
signal
that we are not worthy
of protection,
we persevere.
Most of us have already
spent years in dark places,
wrestling with our truths,
feeling ashamed of who we are.
But when we manage to survive
and even to love ourselves,
we are stronger than ever.
Try as they might,
these lawmakers cannot erase us.
Our rights will be hard-won,
but we are winning.
Our community is resilient,
and our history of resistance
runs deep.
Following in the footsteps
of Flawless, Major,
Sylvia, Marsha,
we fight back
the way they did.
We take care of each other.
We tell our stories.
And we demand justice.
Join the fight
in courts,
in state legislatures,
in the streets,
in the voting booths.
Resistance is our birthright,
the gift passed on
from our elders.
We carry the lessons
of Cooper's, Stonewall,
Compton's,
and the many strategies
that continue to give us hope
and life.
We have always existed,
and we will continue to fight
until we are all safe
and free.
