Community Corner
Essex County Commissioners Support ‘Transgender Day Of Visibility’
"We only represent 1 percent of the population, but we are under relentless attack," a community member said.
ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — The Essex County Board of Commissioners recently passed a resolution in support of transgender and non-binary residents in the area.
The board voted unanimously to recognize March 31 as a “Transgender Day of Visibility” at their meeting earlier this month.
The resolution was an important show of support, according to Imani Hayes of the the Essex County-based North Jersey Community Research Initiative and the Hyacinth AIDS Foundation.
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“We only represent 1 percent of the population, but we are under relentless attack,” Hayes said.
“We’re human, we bleed just like you do,” Hayes said. “We just want our place in our community.”
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The resolution was sponsored by acclamation and proposed by Commissioner Patricia Sebold.
“As we have seen unfold in the past few months in Washington, and the last few years in some areas, the transgender and non-binary community has come under reprehensible attack simply for trying to exist as their most authentic selves,” Sebold said.
“Powerful political forces are attempting to erase this community and these people from American society,” the commissioner continued. “We will not abandon our trans friends, family, and neighbors. We will always stand with them in solidarity, and Essex County will always be a place of love and acceptance.”
Commissioner Brendan Gill thanked Sebold for championing the resolution, and Reginald Bledsoe and Montclair resident Kathy Ahearn-O’Brien for their “tireless advocacy.”
“Transgender and non-binary folks are our family, friends, and neighbors, and they deserve our support and respect,” Gill said.
“Here in Essex County, we will not tolerate injustice and hateful acts that target members of the trans community,” Gill said. “Instead, we choose to celebrate the trans community’s joy and accomplishments.”
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