Transgender Awareness Week (Celebrated Annually November 13-19) It is a crucial time to uplift the voices and experiences of the transgender and nonbinary (TNB) community through advocacy and action. This beautiful population is often overlooked and misunderstood. At NOCCCD, we aim to be inclusive of ALL of our students and employees; this includes our TNB members. But we cannot truly be inclusive without a deeper understanding. For an intro into beginning to care for TNB folks around you, please check out these excellent resources (feel free to share and discuss these with students, colleagues, friends, and family):
The week culminates on November 20 each year with Transgender Day of Remembrance, a time to remember and honor the many trans lives lost to violence. Ignorance and bigotry have created fear and misconceptions of TNB individuals. This, combined with the extremely binary and stereotypical views of gender within our culture, has made it challenging and often dangerous for TNB folks to simply exist and go about their lives in this world. Find more information and resources from GLAAD. Please take a moment to honor some of the lives that have been taken in recent years. Then consider what actions you can take to make your places and spaces more inclusive of TNB folks.
If you're looking for a few extra tax deductions before year-end, or you just want to make the world a safer and more inclusive place, please consider donating to one of these life-saving organizations and learning from the work they do and the resources they provide:
If there are more ways to support our students and colleagues, please contact Jenelle Herman (jherman@cypresscollege.edu), ESL Instructor, Cypress College, Cypress College LGBTQ+ Liaison, Queer-Strait Alliance Faculty Advisor, Gay & Lesbian Association of District Employees (GLADE) President.