With over 100 people in
attendance, Trans activists in Houston had a reason to
celebrate as the city's mayor proclaimed last
Saturday "Transgender Center Day" in honor of the center's
first anniversary.
The daylong event
included a barbecue, socializing, networking, and a brief
program that was attended by local politicians and a state
representative, who presented the center with proclamations and
certificates.
"It's pretty amazing
that a number of years ago we probably wouldn't have seen that
much support from our local politicians," said Tim Brookover,
a board member of the Houston Transgender Unity Committee, who
attended the event on July 25. "They provide visibility not
just in the trans and LGBT community but the wider
community."
The event was also
posted to a local television station's blog -- which provoked
viewer comments both positive and deeply negative.
"There were some
incredibly bigoted and nasty comments, but there were also some
positive ones," Brookover said. "Progress sometimes is slow
but we try to keep moving ahead. There's still a lot of
prejudice out there, but certainly society in some ways has
become more accepting, but there's also a great deal of hard
work not just by [the founders] but the pioneers ahead of
them."
The Transgender Center,
one of the first of its kind in the country, has become a face
for the trans community beyond Houston, advancing trans causes
and issues in the state. It offers many services for trans
people including support groups, workshops, health care,
housing referrals, and community events.
The center also houses
an archive including transgender artifacts from the Roman
Empire, rare books and magazines from Europe and Africa, and
17th- and 18th-century antiquities from the Far East.
Pop-culture memorabilia are also housed in the archives with
ephemera from international trans movies, autographed books by
writers such as Gore Vidal and Quentin Crisp, and photos of
actors from critically acclaimed films like
Transamerica
and
Boys Don't Cry
.
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