This article was originally published by Them.
California's State Assembly voted in favor of House Resolution 57 on Wednesday, establishing that August will be recognized as Transgender History Month starting in 2024 — and making it the first state to honor trans history with such a designation.
The legislation cites California’s long-ranging significance in trans history, starting with Spanish colonizers’ “suppression of gender variance” among indigenous people, which the resolution says was “a foundational event of the history of the state.” It also cites the Stonewall precursor Compton’s Cafeteria Riot, Lou Sullivan’s trailblazing activism on behalf of trans men, and the establishment of the Transgender District in San Francisco in 2017, among many other events.
“California has long been the epicenter of the trans liberation movement,” the resolution reads. “Supporting the transgender community by designating August as Transgender History Month will create a culture led by research, education, and scholarly recognition of the contributions of transgender Californians to our great state’s history, and will educate future generations of Californians on the importance of this history.”
The California Assembly Democrats held a press conference outside the California State Capitol to announce the passage of the Resolution on Wednesday. Assemblymember Matt Haney, who represents San Francisco and who introduced the resolution, was joined at the event by Honey Mahogany and Jupiter Peraza, co-founder and program associate respectively of the Transgender District, the first legally recognized transgender district in the world.
Mahogany took the mic first, acknowledging that while California enjoys some unique protections for trans people, the state is still plagued by transphobia. “Even here in California, where we have a sanctuary state, where we have overwhelmingly Democrats representing us in the capitol, we are still seeing acts of violence. We are still seeing attempts at legislating against our community,” she said. “And so it’s really important to us that we stop spreading misinformation about the trans community and take this opportunity to actually tell the truth and educate people about who we are and what we need.”
She then introduced Haney, who further emphasized the importance of trans history. “As long as there has been a California, there have been transgender people here,” Haney said. “Contributing to their community, making history, and expanding civil rights, and helping to build a California that is more inclusive and prosperous for everyone.”
San Francisco was the first city to recognize Transgender History Month, which it enacted in 2021. And although these declarations are largely symbolic, they are deeply meaningful symbols at a time when LGBTQ+ curriculum is under attack and painted as “dangerous” to students.
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