Chappell Roan’s queer anthem “Pink Pony Club” rang out throughout McEntee Plaza on Monday afternoon because the transgender flag was raised in entrance of the Santa Clara County Authorities Middle, the place it’s going to stay for the foreseeable future.
The flag, which is made up of 5 horizontal stripes — two gentle blue, two pink and one white within the middle, will now fly twelve months a 12 months at 70 W. Hedding St. in San Jose as county leaders pledge to assist and defend members of the LGBTQ+ group.
Monday’s celebration, which included a efficiency from Monarcas — the primary Latina transgender dance group within the South Bay — occurred forward of the Transgender Day of Visibility on March 31. Sera Fernando, the supervisor of the County’s Workplace of LGBTQ Affairs known as it a day to find out about what it means to be an ally and have fun “trans joy.”
However whereas former President Joe Biden commemorated the annual occasion final 12 months, the Trump Administration has ramped up its assaults on trans folks. Since taking workplace in January, President Donald Trump has signed govt orders proclaiming that the federal authorities would solely acknowledge two sexes, female and male, banning federal funding or assist for gender-affirming take care of these beneath 19 and limiting trans folks from serving within the army.
County Government James Williams stated that because the native security internet group, Santa Clara County has a “responsibility to ensure that we continue to provide care to those who are in the greatest need.”
“Even in the midst of what can feel like a dark and daunting time, we as a county organization stand firm on our values of inclusion, our values of support, our values of care for everyone in our community, and that emphatically includes the transgender community, too,” he stated.
In 2016, Santa Clara County grew to become the primary county within the nation to ascertain an Workplace of LGBTQ Affairs. Since then, the workplace has labored on initiatives just like the Gender Well being Middle at Santa Clara Valley Medical Middle — the one clinic within the South Bay specializing in take care of transgender and nonbinary people — and New Haven Inn, which is a homeless shelter in San Jose for many who establish as LGBTQ+.
Peaches, a 24-year-old transgender girl from San Jose, stated she feeIs like “it’s only right” for the county to fly the trans flag twelve months a 12 months. She at the moment works on the Younger Girls’s Freedom Middle, mentoring trans and different gender-nonconforming youth, ensuring they “feel empowered” and have the assets and assist they want
“I grew up in a community where you don’t often see trans and gender-expansive people,” Peaches stated. “It wasn’t normalized or accepted as it is today. It was because of the lack of education in my community. And when I say education, I don’t mean the definition, I mean the resources, the community, the allies, the diversity and the difficult conversations.”
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On Tuesday, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors is anticipated to undertake a decision declaring the county as an “affirming county for transgender, nonbinary, gender-nonconforming, queer and intersex community members.”
Board President Otto Lee, who launched the decision, stated the county will stand towards efforts from “ignorant” federal lawmakers or different states seeking to roll again “these fundamental human rights.”
“The word ally is not just a noun, but an action word,” he stated. “We take action to support our LGBTQ+ families and the transgender community, celebrating the joy and protecting their rights to live (as) their authentic selves.”
Tiffany Woods, the transgender well being supervisor for the California Division of Public Well being, known as the choice to boost the trans flag twelve months a 12 months a “bold statement of Santa Clara County’s values and an act of resistance.”
Woods got here out as a trans girl in 1989 through the AIDS epidemic. Within the ’80s, ’90s and early 2000s, she stated, “our main visibility was in the gay bars far away from the public.” Nonetheless, she stated they all the time discovered group.
“Trans people have been hated and targeted throughout history since the beginning of time. We’ve always won. We will win again,” she stated. “We will continue to rise and overcome these current threats. We have always existed and we will never ever be erased by executive orders or let others define our existence.”
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