Guest Post written by:
Nathan Pham, they/them/theirs, Field Organizer, Transgender Education Network of Texas
Andrea Segovia, She/her/hers, Field/Policy Coordinator, Transgender Education Network of Texas
Content warning: While referring to the importance of Transgender awareness, the following mentions the violence to and the deaths of trans and gender diverse individuals here in the US, especially in communities of color.
Transgender Awareness week is a week that celebrates and centers the lives and narratives of Transgender people. This week of awareness is observed the second week of November. During this week, advocates, community members, and allies raise awareness about the Transgender community through education and organizing events.
The week ends on Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR), which memorializes the lives lost to transphobic violence that year which began in 1999.
80% of trans people killed were 35 and younger.
The importance of this day marks the demand of ending transgender violence each year. As found in 2014, the average life expectancy of Black trans women here in the US is below the age of 40, while 80% of trans people killed were 35 and younger. This is due to racism, transphobia, and trans-misogyny being entrenched in society.
In 2016, Unerased cited that in proportion to overall murder rates, Black trans women are 7x more to be murdered.
We, the Transgender Education Network of Texas (TENT), are an organization dedicated to furthering gender diverse equality in Texas. We work to accomplish this through education and networking in both public and private forums. Through our efforts we strive to halt discrimination through social, legislative, and corporate education.
During two different public health crises, namely ongoing racial inequity and the advent of a global pandemic, we have had to quickly adapt and listen to our communities’ needs as the situation develops.
With a disproportionate amount of transgender people facing housing and employment prior to COVID-19, especially Black and brown transgender folks, TENT, as a non-direct service organization had to become an even more fluid organization and break down barriers to access and build a responsive referral system.
TENT is the largest trans led, trans focused organization in the state of Texas. We are an organization dedicated to furthering gender diverse equality in Texas.
Queer and Trans organizations throughout Texas moved to some form of hybrid (in-person & virtual) care/services as the pandemic has gripped everyone’s lives, being able to refer and navigate individuals in crisis through them. This has been a common challenge for many organizations, as well as many marginalized communities, however as time goes on we have found models for beautiful and resilient communities.
We were able to finally connect with supporters that would not have been as easily contacted thanks to the teams and services at Hustle.
We nearly met almost double our voter ID goals, confirming they had voting/ballot casting resources and voted. One of the largest benefits to working with Hustle is that we are also able to empower text bank volunteers and voters in their voter efficacy, being able to do this quickly within 1–2 days depending on how responsive our base was.
Hustle is an amazing tool for relational organizing, and with their support we will be able to engage with a diverse list of supporters during the 2021 Texas Legislative Session.
