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Photo credit: Joe Baker
Transgender Pride flag flying outside Milwaukee City Hall
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Photo credit: Milwaukee Pride
Demonstrators made their voices heard on Oct. 25 at the Rally for Resistance at City Hall.
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Photo credit: Milwaukee Pride
Demonstrators made their voices heard on Oct. 25 at the Rally for Resistance at City Hall.
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Photo credit: Milwaukee Pride
Demonstrators made their voices heard on Oct. 25 at the Rally for Resistance at City Hall.
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Photo credit: Milwaukee Pride
Demonstrators made their voices heard on Oct. 25 at the Rally for Resistance at City Hall.
On Sunday, Oct. 21, The New York Times revealed that the Trump administration plans to legally redefine sex and gender. This plan would effectively exclude transgender and non-binary students from legal protection, paving the way for the further erosion of basic civil rights.
Milwaukee Pride firmly believes that an attack on any one of us is an attack on all of us. For more than 30 years, we have fought for a world where all people can live proud. On Thursday, Oct. 25, we partnered with leading LGBTQ organizations to demonstrate our resistance to any attempted erasure of transgender lives or legal status in America. The Rally for Resistance at City Hall brought hundreds of trans people together to be seen, heard and understood.
One of the loudest voices we heard that night was Alex Corona. Today, we share her voice with you, so that you might understand what It means to have your very being erased from legal existence.
My name is Alex Corona.
I am the child of an undocumented Mexican immigrant. I am a sister, a friend, a lover and a drag queen, but above all I am a flesh and blood transgender woman and I just want to live.
Our current administration's ignorant fearmongering tactics are a direct attack against trans liberation. They don't want the public to sympathize with our plight; they want them to be afraid of us. They paint us as confused and sad, but since I've started transitioning, I've never been more sure of who I am and happier to be alive. We have a right to create our own identities. We have a right to be happy. And we have the right to use whatever damn bathroom we need to!
I refuse to be stripped of my pride, my pronouns and my identity. I refuse to be reduced to what's between my legs. I refuse to accept an administration that sees me as erasable. We all have to hold this reprehensible administration accountable for their actions. May the lives of those 22 trans angels we lost this year and the many lives that have been lost before never be forgotten and may their bravery to live unapologetically and honestly inspire us all.
Cisgender allies, this is your time to put your money where your mouths are and step up to help us. Donate money and time to trans advocacy agencies. Demand that your representatives are advocating for trans-rights legislation. Stick up for us even when we aren’t around and especially when it’s not easy or comfortable. Educate your transphobic friends, family members and coworkers. Check your privilege and listen rather than speak. Ask us what we can do to help but also do some research on your own because we are already doing a lot of emotional labor these days. Love us, be with us, amplify our voices, know your place and know that this fight will not be possible without your support.
Throughout history and across the entire world, trans, gender non-conforming and intersex people have always existed. A lot of the time, we have had to live outside of the law, and we will continue to do so if necessary. To my trans, intersex and non-conforming family: We will always thrive.
I am just one person and I am by no means the poster child for this movement. The voices and faces at the forefront must be black trans people because they face the most victimization and discrimination. Yanté Turner is a young trans activist and leader in Milwaukee and we need to amplify his voice and message. He writes: “When someone threatens to deny access to fundamental rights to a diaspora of people then ridicules and dehumanizes that group of people for being angry, there’s no credible response that can possibly be given to console said people. Transgender people in America have been thrown against a slew of things just for a sliver of validation; this isn’t a problem created by trans people. This erasure wasn’t asked for by trans people. What needs to be done for someone to treat our existence like it matters in this world? Our existence shouldn’t be a political stance for cisgendered heterosexual white men to debate over. Being a living, bleeding protest is exhausting.”
I want to live in a world that accepts all expressions of gender identity because we all deserve dignity. I am here for you. I love you and see you all.
We Will Not Be Erased
Alex Corona is the Transgender Resource Coordinator at the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center. In addition to trans activism, Corona is an advocate for LetsPrEPWI, which connects people all over the state to a life-saving medication that significantly eliminates the risk of contracting HIV.
Michail Takach is the vice president of Milwaukee Pride, Inc., the nonprofit organization that produces PrideFest Milwaukee. A writer, author and historian, he is also the curator of the Wisconsin LGBTQ History Project.
How can you show your support for the transgender community? Make an investment in one of these qualified trans-supporting non-profit organizations:
