Local and national transgender leaders and allies will gather at Philadelphia City Hall this week to address the need for coordinated, comprehensive advocacy for trans issues in 2017.
Trans United Fund will host “United. Undaunted. Unstoppable Fight Back 2017” at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 19 at City Hall. The event is meant to engage the community in and fundraise for the organization’s work.
It is being held during National LGBTQ Task Force’s Creating Change Conference, which is expected to bring up to 4,000 LGBT advocates to Philadelphia Jan. 18-22.
It also comes the night before President-Elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.
“This is a crucial time to bring the community together and give folks a sense of hope and concrete action they can take to make a difference,” said TUF founding member Hayden Mora.
TUF launched last year as the first national trans-focused political-advocacy group; it is the 501(c)(4) arm of Trans United, which works to build leadership capacity within the trans community.
The organization is Washington, D.C.-based but is a national operation.
Mora noted that its focus is a bit different than that of many other national LGBT organizations.
“Most mainstream LGBT organizations and those in trans-political-focused work are prioritizing a focus on nondiscrimination and RFRA [“Religious Freedom Restoration Act”-like legislation]. Those are critically important issues that we believe strongly in and engage in, but there are other issues that dramatically and disproportionally impact transgender communities, like immigration, HIV criminality, violence, poverty,” Mora said. “The goal of Trans United Fund is to create a political force led by and for trans folks and allies that has an expansive political agenda that includes these issues and operates at multiple levels.”
With Donald Trump’s inauguration, the need for such work is even more urgent, Mora noted.
“Even under the Obama administration, the issues that we are fighting for and prioritizing were dire, but we believe it will be even tough under a Trump administration, with somebody like [Vice President-Elect Mike] Pence and the leadership team he’s putting together,” Mora said. “Our priorities around fighting not just for basic survival but for creating a country where trans folks can thrive is all the more important now.”
Speakers at Thursday’s event include Minneapolis City Council candidate and trans woman of color Andrea Jenkins; Gender Justice League of Washington State Executive Director Danni Askini; TUF Co-Chair Angelica Ross; and Sharron Cooks, a leader in the Philadelphia trans community.
Attendees are asked to RSVP here: https://actionnetwork.org/ticketed_events/united-undaunted-unstoppable-fight-back-2017. Donations starting at $1 will be accepted.
For more information about TUF, visit www.transunitedfund.org.