Originally appeared in Transgender Tapestry #99, Fall 2002.

by Diane Dale
On Saturday May 4, two dozen transgender principals and activists from all over the U.S. met in Atlanta to begin the planning of what promises to be a seminal event in the history of our transgender movement?The March For Gender Rights.
This initial planning was facilitated by Sabrina Marcus of the Southern Comfort Conference and Rory Gould of the Washington Gender Alliance. The purpose was not to detail the event itself, but rather to begin to explore the principal theme(s) of the March and to set up a preliminary organizational structure that will help develop and deploy it. The one philosophy that was universally acknowledged was that the March must represent our entire transgender community.

Indeed, the diversity of our movement is our strength, and every sector will not only be welcomed but expected and urged to play a prominent role in the March. Debate arose over an appropriate theme for the March. Suggestions ranged from transgender pride; to fostering transgender awareness; to education; community unity and community building; equality under the law and ENDA; respect and acceptance; and freedom of gender expression.

Much of the discussion, too, centered upon identifying the various components that would make up the event, as well as answering some very fundamental questions:

? Who should be responsible for the overall management of the March?
? What should take place during the event?
? When should it be held?
? Where should it be held?
? Why have the March in the first place?
? How are we going to pull it off successfully?

Five participants were elected to a non-partisan committee to establish communication with various gender leadership communities. Having broad-based and proper representation at every planning meeting is of paramount importance to ensure an inclusive and successful March.

As you can imagine, the scope of such a project as this is immense. It is not only the March per se that has to be dealt with, but the myriad of other activities and facilities that make up and add to the entire experience. Areas to be addressed include such things as: mission and theme; community liaison; travel and accommodations; security; financing; programs, speakers and special invitees; marketing, promotion and media relations; legal and accounting; ancillary events; legislative relations; and follow-up. Perhaps you have expertise in one or more of these functional areas and will want to help out when the time comes. Stay tuned for forthcoming information on how you can participate.

While no specific date has been set for the March, it was clear that it would be at least a year in the making?possibly two. This will give everyone and every group enough time to prepare. Naturally, financial considerations are critical. Money is needed to produce the March and its related activities. photograph by Mariette Pathy Allen On the steps of The Capitol, First Lobby Day Transgender Tapestry #99 ? 13

The Transgender Fund <www.tgfund.org> was designated as the chief financial arm of the March. The Fund has set up a select initiative on its website to receive contributions that will be invested in the event. To get things going, the TG Fund has provided a $1,000 grant to the March?s organizers.

Another important aspect of planning is dealing with the personal costs associated with participating in the March. Transportation, housing, and meals are but three things that require money. The good news is that everyone has enough time to save. Here?s a suggestion: Set up a March For Gender Rights Fishbowl at your group?s monthly meetings. Place half the donations in an account earmarked to help cover the expenses of those from your organization attending the event. Send the balance to the TG Fund?s March for Gender Rights? Select Initiative.

Let?s make this march a transgender milestone?an event with purpose, pride, and promise. We have a choice of making a statement or a STATEMENT. With your help and support, we indeed will be heard.

WHY WASHINGTON?

Some seven years ago, when 100-plus transsexual and transgendered activists assembled on the steps of the U.S. Capitol, the transgender community was shocked and surprised by what was transpiring. Most of us had never even imagined we would be able to lobby in Washington, or that we would be treated with respect in senators? and representatives? offices if we did. And yet there we were, lobbying en masse!

Now it?s 2002. Transgender lobbyists work Capitol Hill every spring, with surprising success. GenderPAC has offices in D.C., and is well on the way to a $1M budget. Transgender inclusion, or the lack thereof, has become a serious topic of concern for the Employment Nondiscrimination and Hate Crimes acts.

Comes now a proposal for a transgender march for gender rights?to be held, according to rumor, in Washington?in the style of of the 1963 Civil Rights March of 1963 (250,000 attendees), the Millennium March for GLBT Civil Rights (200,000 attendees), and the Million Man March of 1995 (875,000). Some time in the next two years we can expect vast numbers of transgendered and transsexual people and their advocates to assemble in Washington, filling the National Mall beyond its capacity, choking the Metro, creating traffic jams, and overflowing hotels from Richmond to Baltimore.

One can only hope.

The largest North American transgender event to date was Southern Comfort 2000, with about 800 attendees. While the upcoming GenderPAC and Southern Comfort conferences may yield slightly higher numbers, there is nothing to suggest the March for Transgender Rights will draw a crowd much larger. A thousand or so people would be invisible in the immensity of the National Mall. Pah! The Mall spits on a thousand people! The Mall spits on ten thousand!

It will take several hundred thousand attendees to have an impact in Washington D.C., to get us noticed, to attract the attention of the media or our elected officials. The organizers of the march cannot possibly expect to get such numbers.

The true significance of the first transgender lobby day was not what it accomplished externally, but what it meant to the community. It gave us pride, a sense of what was possible. the March for Gender Rights has the potential to build upon that pride. If the organizers are smart, they?ll elect not to have the march in Washington, D.C., where it will have zero impact outside of our own community, but in a place where a thousand people will fill the streets and frighten the horses. Might we suggest Provincetown or Key West?