This past weekend, on a cold and snowy Chicago day, I stood outside with hundreds of others to speak out against the Trump administration’s rescission of guidance for teachers and administrators on how best to honor the rights of transgender students.
As I took to the stage, I was so proud to see so many in our community there. Hundreds of people had come with little notice. I could feel their determination.
We did not care that it was 20-something degrees or that our fingers and toes were starting to go numb. The call had gone out that it was time to take to the streets. To send a message of love and support to our community’s children. To deliver a warning to the bullies that would come for our kids.
And we answered. In that moment, I knew exactly the message I wanted to give to trans and gender-nonconforming young people.
I remember the living nightmare that school was.
I remember how — far too often — walking through those school doors felt like walking through the Gates of Hell. I remember the pain of trying to hide who I truly was. And I remember the torment that being unable to hide brought me.
Looking back, I still don’t know how I made it through those years.
To trans and gender-nonconforming young people: I see you, I was you. I see the way you have advocated for yourself to your friends, families, communities and schools. I see how you have been literally on the front lines, leading countless others to progress.
And I have been inspired by you. I have been inspired to act. I will help you through the difficult and unforgiving terrain that cisgender people will simply never know.
