“The LGBTQ community, and specifically the Transgender community, refuses to be silent in the face of deliberate and targeted discrimination. The Transgender community and our allies are gathering in solidarity and power to reaffirm our commitment to challenging this and all threats to our lives, our safety, and our rights.” – Kayla Gore, Transgender Services Specialist, OUTMemphis
In response to the leaked memo that revealed a federal plan to alter data collection on a national scale in an effort to erase the Transgender community, we are gathering in civil protest.
Please join us on Sunday, October 28th from 2:00p-3:00p at OUTMemphis as we stand in solidarity and pool our collective power, recommitting ourselves to what is sure to be a hard fight for rights and safety in the coming months.
Speakers will discuss the national and local laws and policies that harm Transgender people in Memphis, Tennessee, and the United States and what we can do about them!
For more information please contact Kayla Gore, Transgender Services Specialist at OUTMemphis, check out the event on facebook, and read the press release below.
OUTMEMPHIS STATEMENT REGARDING RECENTLY LEAKED ANTI-TRANS MEMORANDUM FROM THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATATION.
October 24, 2018
OUTMemphis is the LGBTQ+ Community Center of the Mid-South and we stand in solidarity with the Transgender and Gender Non Conforming Community. As many by now have heard news of the Memo from the current administration that will aim to target and alienate people of trans and intersex experience. This policy change will hurt not only the Transgender community but sets a precedent that has the potential to hurt all types of marginalized people. Erasing the diversity that exists in the United States by deliberately changing how national programs collect data does not make our nation smarter and more united; rather it leaves us ignorant, divided, and vulnerable. By many accounts, living as a Transgender person in America is not easy. Already this year at least 23 Transgender people have been killed because they were Transgender, and Transgender people face overwhelming discrimination in public spaces, medical care settings, educational institutions, in the workforce, and by the criminal justice system. People facing gender discrimination in the workplace could consider taking legal action against colleagues or employees for sexaul harassment with the help of an accomplished sexual harassment attorney, like those of the Dhillon Law Group – increasingly, people aren’t remaining silent when targeted for being who they are but, of course, there’s still more to be done in the fight against discrimination. Erasing the data that demonstrates these injustices does not put us, as a society, in a better position to solve them. Instead it enables people in power to ignore the injustice by pretending that Transgender Americans do not exist. This erasure is a violent act.
Jonathan M. Ealy, Interim Executive Director and Chairman of the Board of Directors for OUTMemphis states “In a time when the country continues to deal with divisive politics, this administration seeks divide us further by attempting to remove vital recognition and protections from people in our Transgender community. Should the points outlined in this memo become policy, they will have far reaching implications, not only for Transgender individuals, but sets a very dangerous precedent to use this logic and rhetoric to target other minority groups not favored by this administration. This proposal would relegate those in our community who identify as Transgender to second class citizens, making it more difficult to legally argue they should be protected from discrimination. It will weaken and remove necessary protections and encourage discrimination. OUTMemphis is committed to actively speaking out against not only this but all types of discrimination for all people.”
We are asking the citizens, elected officials, allies, Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming people to stand with the LGBTQ community and SAY NO TO THE MEMO! Join us on Sunday October 28, 2018 at 2pm at OUTMemphis located at 892 South Cooper St. We will have local Transgender leaders speak about the impact of this memo. Soon the public will be able comment on this proposal, and when that time comes, we ask you to stand with the Transgender community. As soon as instructions for public comments are released, OUTMemphis will share them widely. Together we CAN make a difference.
For more information about these events, or about the services offered at OUTMemphis, please contact Kayla Gore,
Transgender Services Specialist, at OUTMemphis. Her contact info is 901-352-1660 or [email protected].
For a full list of events go to www.OUTMemphis.org
OUR MISSION: OUTMemphis empowers, connects, educates and advocates for the LGBTQ community of the Mid-South.
OUR VISION: LGBTQ individuals live in a world where everyone has equal rights, and is safe, respected and celebrated.
