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June 29, 2007
LIBERTY AND TRANSJUSTICE FOR ALL
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Cristina Herrera marches for an end to discrimination |
"No justice/no peace/no transphobic police!" 1,000 marchers shouted as they took over 9th Ave. at the third annual Trans Day of Action for Social and Economic Justice. TransJustice, a part of the Audre Lorde Project, was held on Friday, June 22, two days before the larger Gay Pride celebration.
New York City passed a non-discrimination law based in on gender identity or expression in 2002 (unlike New York State which still hasn't passed GENDA). But legislation is only the first step, and transgender people face rampant discrimination in employment, housing, health care and public accommodations, and are often criminalized and profiled by police. The march sought to bring awareness to the wide scope of injustices affecting the transgender community and received endorsements from more than 200 city, national and international organizations,including African Ancestral Lesbians United for Societal Change, Housing Works and Queers for Economic Justice.
"We wanted to show the many atrocities transgender individuals face on a daily basis," said Lourdes Hunter, a Transjustice organizer and the Transgender Evening Program Counselor at Housing Works, who marched with about 20 Housing Works clients. "Our community needs to continue to show visibility, and highlight the lack of access to housing and jobs in New York City and across the country."
The rally began with speeches by transgender activists, including D'Angelo Johnson, who spoke again at the rally's completion at Madison Square Park."We bear witness to the large numbers of people unable to access affordable housing while the wealthy continue to profit from the blood and sweat of our ancestors," Johnson told the enthused crowd. "TransJustice recognizes the importance of joining together with our allies and other movements to continue the fight for social and economic justice and equality."
The diverse group of marchers included many transgender people who had been personally hurt by discrimination. Cristina Herrera, 36, a TransJustice member, said that she has experienced blatant discrimination because of her gender identity. "A lot of landlords didn't want to rent to a transgender person," she said.
Hunter said the march was a success and it hopes it will grow larger in future years. She noted that transgender people aren't asking for special privileges. "We are humans and we just want to be treated like we are. We want equality, access to housing, jobs, and the right to enjoy a life of quality. That's everybody's right," Hunter said.