Texas city declares Trans+ History Week in historic first

One of Texas’s largest cities has formally recognized transgender history for the first time.

The San Antonio City Council approved a resolution recognizing this week, May 4 through 10, as Trans+ History Week.

“At a moment when both our state and country are systematically trying to push trans people out of public life, erase our stories, and outright deny our existence, this proclamation recognizing Trans History Week is a beacon to trans people in San Antonio and across Texas,” said Naveen Farrani, a spokesperson for Equality Texas, in a statement to the San Antonio Report.

Out San Antonio City Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez introduced the proclamation, according to the outlet.

Related: Texas Republican bill would make simply being transgender a felony

Trans+ History Week is an international event, held each year the week of May 6, Trans+ History Day. That marks the 1933 Nazi raid on the Institute of Sexology, one of the earliest centers for the study of gender and sexuality and an institution that supported early advocacy for transgender people.

McKee-Rodriguez said it was important for the city to recognize the rights of all its residents. “At the end of the day, we’re people,” McKee-Rodriguez said. “The way that we talk about each other matters, and it’s pushing people to make life-ending decisions. So we all have a duty to treat each other with respect and kindness and love.”

San Antonio has continued to promote LGBTQ+ tolerance and an inclusive environment, even as that puts it at odds with the conservative state government.

Related: Transgender Texans refuse to be erased as Republicans try to make their existence illegal

Related: Cisgender kids in Texas can’t get care due to anti-trans laws

In March, the city unveiled new rainbow sidewalks tied to its annual Pride celebration, shortly after the administration of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott pushed to remove rainbow crosswalks on city roads. Abbott’s administration has also moved to restrict how gender identity is taught in public institutions, part of a broader statewide push affecting LGBTQ+ residents.

LGBTQ+ activists in the city praised local leaders for continuing to signal support for transgender people despite statewide policies that have restricted drag performances and other expressions of LGBTQ+ identity. Local transgender leaders said that’s why it is so important for San Antonio to take a stance and remain an example of inclusion in Texas.

“This right here is why I love San Antonio, because I would always say it loud, San Antonio has no home for hate,” Rain Garcia, leader of Unfiltered Wings, said at the meeting and posted on Facebook.