TransJustice Community School: Spring 2019
TransJustice Schools are for People of Color who identify as Trans and Gender Non-Conforming - for example, people who identify as trans, gender non-conforming, gender variant, gender deviant, butch lesbians, drag queens, bi-gendered, Two-Spirit, drag kings, femme queens, A.G., genderqueer, agender, andro, gender-benders, etc. - to expand our opportunities in creating spaces where we can build, learn, and support our collective work to liberate Trans and Gender Nonconforming Communities of Color. Please follow this link for the Application.
January 2019 Newsletter
Dear Community,
It’s 2019, and we have a new year ahead of to accomplish great things, and show up for each other in powerful ways. We hope our January offerings encourage you to participate in community, find healing, and create connections between justice, wellness, and honoring the legacies of the movements that inform so many of our daily struggles. We would also like to offer gratitude for the contributions of time, energy, and money folks have made to help us thrive, which is so critical at this moment in time. Your love and efforts have and will continue to fortify our communities.
This is a great time to start volunteering with us at The Audre Lorde Project. Start by attending our membership orientation. Money comes and goes, but time does not. The contribution of your presence is something we cherish and honor. We have several monthly meetings at our Brooklyn and Manhattan offices. Metrocards and food are provided, and we encourage you to participate within your capacity. Please take a look at the schedule of upcoming events, below, and join the conversation. We currently have 2 job openings, and you are welcome to apply for our TransJustice Community School, or take an Adult First Aid class, Activate with us this year!
December 2018 Newsletter
Dear Community,
Season’s Greetings from The Audre Lorde Project! Our November and December have been reflective; with Transgender Day of Remembrance and the holidays upon us, the gathering of chosen families is one of the defining characteristics of our LGBTSTGNC communities. This is the time of year when we can take a look around us and not just shop, but participate and be with our communities in rituals of love and generosity, that give us a sense of continuity as individuals and as part of something bigger. This month, ALP wants to invite you to participate with us! There are many ways to get involved, you can volunteer, donate, come to an event, or tell your friends about us. If you want to shop from a list of ALP’s vendors and other QTPOC shopping resources, check out forusbuyus.tumblr.com.
In November, we celebrated the resilience of the Trans community at our annual Transgender Day of Remembrance. It was an evening, rich with memory, community, and ritual. We set up an altar for those who have passed, fed community members, held safe space for wellness and healing for people of color, and got to enjoy performances by our volunteers, members, and staff. Giving Tuesday brought us our most successful year in community fundraising in three years! Additionally, we opened the search for a TransJustice Coordinator.
As 2018 comes to a close, we wanted to share our Annual Report with you, a celebration of moments of collective transformation that we have held together with you in this past year and a reminder that we are at our most powerful when we are building together. We hope you will enjoy learning more about our work to build people power, support our leaders, and increase the safety and well-being of LGBTSTGNC folks of color. We hope to see you at our events in 2019!
November 2018 Newsletter
Dear Community,
As we move forward into the fall season, The Audre Lorde Project wants to express gratitude for your support in the midst of political conditions that impel us to invest in holding each other closer, with love and protection. We want to thank you for breathing life into the safe spaces, the community rituals, the life-elevating trainings, and the provision of a sustainable framework for community fortification.
This month's big event at ALP is our Annual Transgender Day of Remembrance on November 19th. On this day, we gather with community, comrades, and chosen family to honor the deceased. It's a ceremony where we hold space for one another in reflecting on the narratives of so many whose lives were cut violently short. The work of commemoration is an act of resistance against erasure and also a time for collective renewal of spirit. The timing of this event poignantly situates itself between the leaked government memo threatening to erase transgender identity and the holiday season, which can be a challenging time for LGBTSTGNC folks with family trauma. We hope to provide you with a healing space where you'll feel embraced by community while bearing witness to a collective act of uncompromising self-determination.
Volunteer Call for TDOR 2018!
Our annual Trans Day of Remembrance is at 81 Christopher st at St. John's Lutheran Church on Monday, November 19th from 6-9pm. We are in need of volunteers for this year's TDOR 2018! Please come to support, and for healing, and transformation as we affirm that we will not be erased. We are most powerful when we are in community and there is no community as resilient as ours. Check out shifts below and how to sign up
We Won’t be Erased: The Audre Lorde Project’s Statement on the Health and Human Services' Proposed Definition of Sex
Recently, a memo for the federal Health and Human Services (HHS) Department was leaked, sharing HHS’s plan to define sex as male or female, and only recognize people in these categories based on their sex assignment at birth. This is yet another attempt by the federal administration to harm trans and gender non-conforming communities by rolling back policies designed to protect us against discrimination. While our community is an already vulnerable and heavily marginalized group, particularly around accessing care, our freedom to self-determine our own gender identities and expressions is at stake. It is important to note that this memo is not yet law. We have an opportunity now to mobilize and demand that government not attempt to erase the lives and experiences of TGNC people.
Transgender Day of Remembrance 2018
The Audre Lorde Project and TransJustice will present Transgender Day of Remembrance 2018, taking place at St. John’s Lutheran Church on Monday, November 19, 2018 from 6pm to 9pm, and featuring conversations and performances in memoriam of those who have passed, but are not forgotten, in our communities. In our current political climate, it is more important than ever to honor the work and resilient legacies of community members who fought, and are fighting, tirelessly for self-determination and survival in the face of overbearing violence and structural oppression. On this day, we confront erasure by honoring their work and lives.
How to Help Transgender People Fight the Trump Administration's New Policy Memo
In the Trump administration’s latest attack on the transgender community, the Department of Health and Human Services is seeking, under Title IX, to legally define gender as a biological condition determined by a person’s genitalia at birth, according to an October 21 New York Times report on a memo obtained by the paper. (Title IX is the law that prevents gender-based discrimination in educational institutions that receive federal funds.)
As noted by the Center for American Progress, the Obama administration made strides toward trans-affirming policies. A broad policy of nondiscrimination in federal programs allowed transgender people — who number somewhere between 1 million and 1.4 million in the United States — to not be discriminated against in places like schools and doctors’ offices. The Trump administration has undone advancements in schools, prisons, and homeless shelters.
The publication of the Times article sparked rallies, like the one in New York City on October 21. Whether or not you take to the streets, here are some actionable ways you can support the transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming community after this latest attack.
Hell No to the Memo: 7 Action Items to Protect Trans and GNC People
Chase Strangio of the ACLU has compiled a list of action items that anyone in support of trans and GNC people should acknowledge. From voting to raising awareness among cis friends and supporting trans journalists, this is an essential checklist for trans rights.