Photo: Val Schaff.
31st of March is Trans Day of Visibility. This is a chance for us to stand up, show who we are, and be celebrated.
50 years on from the Stonewall riots started by trans women of colour and homeless youth in response to police brutality and corruption we know that in many ways we are under attack again, this time by the mainstream media, on social media and on our streets. And you know what? We continue. We keep fighting, we keep living and we keep going. In November we will mourn the dead, but today? Today we celebrate the living. Keep up the fight, whether it be by standing up to government institutions, standing up to transphobia, standing up to people you know or just staying safe until you can come out . No matter how big or small your fight, we’re with you. We celebrate you and we celebrate every part of you.
“We were all involved in different struggles, including myself and many other transgender people. But in these struggles, in the Civil Rights movement, in the war movement, in the women’s movement, we were still outcasts. The only reason they tolerated the transgender community in some of these movements was because we were gung-ho, we were front liners. We didn’t take no sh– from nobody. We had nothing to lose. You all had rights. We had nothing to lose. I’ll be the first one to step on any organization, any politician’s toes if I have to, to get the rights for my community.”
Sylvia Rivera
