TOLEDO, Ohio — March 31 marks Trans Day of Visibility and a Toledo-area LGBTQIA+ group celebrated the community, achievements and each other Friday.
The celebration, hosted by Equality Toledo at Grindhrs Coffee & Community, highlighted Toledoans who identify as transgender, genderqueer or non-binary and their allies and featured art, storytelling and performances.
Trans Day of Visibility aims to raise awareness of discrimination against the trans community, which is growing at record levels, according to the Human Rights Campaign.
Local advocate and fashion designer Jerra Whittaker said the day is also for educating the public and breaking down walls and stereotypes for others. She said that those who are trans are no different than any other individual.
"The trans community is pretty much a whole community of people that just want to live their lives," Whittaker said.
Whittaker said Friday's date sets a different tone than Trans Day of Remembrance in November, which honors and pays tribute to transgender and non-binary individuals who have lost their lives to transphobia, violence and hate.
She said Trans Day of Visibility is to empower each other and to look ahead. It's not just for members of the community to embrace within; it's also about getting the word out so others can understand.
"It gives the public this really unique opportunity to interact with the trans community," she said.
She encouraged people to ask questions, get involved and introduce themselves to those in the community at events like the one at Grindhr's on Friday, since many people may not know someone who identifies as transgender or non-binary.
Whittaker said now is especially important to shine a positive light on the trans community, as many setbacks in trans rights have happened with state lawmakers across the country in recent months. She said lawmakers are using the trans community as a hot-button issue to further validate discrimination.
Beyond just the Trans Day of Visibility, Whittaker said that every day, people should be open to learning more and educating themselves and said if someone does not want to educate themselves to not offer an opinion.
