Transgender Advocates Fight Back With First Political Group of Its Kind

[traci_k]

Transgender Advocates Fight Back With First Political Group of Its Kind

http://time.com/4287288/trans-united-transgender-politics-political-group/

Time
Katy Steinmetz
April 8, 2016

All the presidential candidates will be hearing from the group on Monday

On Thursday night, one of the advisory board members for the newly formed Trans United Fund got a phone call. A 15-year-old transgender girl had been beaten, run over by a car and "left for dead" in Los Angeles. While LGBT advocates have for years tried to draw attention to this kind of violence, by holding vigils and keeping public tallies of how many transgender women are murdered in America each year, Trans United is taking a more systematic, long-term tack.
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[traci_k]

And From the Huffington Post:The 'T' Is No Longer Silent: Growing Trans Political Power with the Trans United Fund

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrea-jenkins/the-t-is-no-longer-silent_b_9643166.html?utm_hp_ref=transgender

Huffington Post
Andrea Jenkins
04/10/2016 01:06 pm ET | Updated 18 hours ago

Wednesday night, I watched two dear friends of mine dismantle the horrific anti-trans bills moving across the U.S. on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah.

They slayed the ignorant notion that discrimination against trans-identified people somehow protects the rights of religious adherents in those states. My friends Angelica Ross and Cherno Biko, along with Daily Show contributor Jessica Williams used humor, common sense and courage to dispel some of the myths surrounding transgender identity and based on the social media response they received, they did a pretty good job.

Unfortunately, we know that visibility alone won't stop the vicious attacks on the lives of transgender people. It won't stop the murders of transgender women of color, nor will it create jobs and safe affordable housing opportunities for our communities. For that to happen, we (the transgender community and our allies) must be more involved in the political process. As a transgender woman of color who worked as a Senior Policy to two City Councilmembers in the City of Minneapolis for 12 years combined, I know firsthand the importance of being involved in electoral politics.
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