Hi John,

Transgender Day of Remembrance, observed this week, honors and remembers those taken from our community through acts of violence⁠—most of whom are trans women of color. It is a stark reminder of why we work to educate those who do not know about our lives and make every community we call home safer for trans people. As we honor this day of reflection and remembrance, we also choose joy. Because being transgender and non-binary is magical.

The theme of our Leadership Conference this past July was Joy . That may seem antithetical when you look around at our nation. Once again, we are gearing up to face a year of LGBTQ+ attacks, especially against our trans and non-binary communities. We get it; it can be hard to find joy when faced with so many obstacles, but it’s there. Our Director of Advocacy and Civic Engagement, Vivian Topping, said it best:

“We must create joy not just despite of the attacks on our community, but as a radical response to extremist politicians attacking our right to exist. Because being trans is learning to prioritize joy, happiness, autonomy, and love for yourself in every aspect of who you are. Joy is the reason, it is the past, it is the present, it is the future. We must work to strengthen that joy and create the world where we all thrive in every community we call home.”

Our power, and our JOY, lies in one another, in the fact that despite years and years of heartache and true hatred of our community by some people in this country, we are still here. We are living authentically.

We are here. In every state. And we’re not going anywhere. We know who we are. We are joy.

In Solidarity,
The trans and non-binary staff at Equality Federation:
Mel King, New York
Mike Webb, Texas
Skye Maresca, New York
Vashti Selix, New York
Vivian Topping, Washington, D.C.

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Equality Federation
818 SW 3rd Ave.
141
Portland, OR 97204-2405
United States

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