Transgender Human Rights: A Panel
Like I mentioned in an earlier post, there was a wonderful panel discussion entitled “Transgender Human Rights” that was put on as part of the Stonewall 40 Week celebration in Atlanta.
The panel was moderated by BT, and included Cole Thaler the Transgender Rights Attorney of Lambda Legal, Cheryl Courtney-Evens of Transgender Individuals Living Their Truth (TILT), Tracee McDaniels of Juxtaposed Center For Transformation , Chanel Haley of TILT, and Sonny Nordmarken, a student and local activist.
Here are some quotes that got me thinking about things:
“I am looking forward to the time when we can be seen as the human community,” – Tracee McDaniels
In reference to homelessness in the transgender community (which by the way, is a huge issue) Tracee McDaniels said, ” We should all be totally outraged that there are people in our society who cannot go to a shelter in their time of need.”
“It baffles me that we still have to justify who we are,” – Cole Thaler
“[Stonewall] stands for a time when we said, ‘Enough is enough!’,” – Chanel Haley
Stonewall was about people fighting back against the police. “Police are still killing us. Why does that not have people out in the streets?” – Cole Thaler
So the topics discussed included why the T needs to be included in the LGB movement, homelessness in the transgender community, violence against transgender people, and what the Stonewall Riots means to each of the panelists. I hope you enjoyed these quotes, and I hope they get you thinking.
Filed under: All Posts, Cultural Analysis, Social Justice, Transphobia
Sounds like an awesome panel! I really liked BT when I met him.
I was at that panel discussion and thought it was fabulous. I’m not a transgendered person, but I can definitely understand some of the feelings that may come with people in your own community excluding you. Awesome panel.