On June 28th, 1969 the Stonewall Riots erupted onto the streets of New York City and led to the Gay Rights movement in the United States.  We’ve reflected on various aspects of Stonewall over the years and, 51 years later, our streets are full of protests demanding a change.  As #BlackLivesMatter protests are sweeping the country and state after state are passing legislation to restrict transgender participation as full, equal citizens in life, Marsha P. Johnson (pictured to the left) wants better for us.  Marsha was there that June night in 1969 and the echoes of the bricks thrown still resonate loudly today.

BALTIMORE – The Baltimore City Green Party (BGP) reached full positive consensus at its Monthly General Meeting on July 29, 2017 to issue a statement affirming the centrality of the struggle for Trans Justice in the larger struggle to realize a better Baltimore. While oppression of trans folks has been ongoing in our city, the attack on and resistance of this community is particularly acute now. So, BGP is raising its voice and the voices of its membership:

By Tre Schumacher

PHILADELPHIA – On March 22, delegates to the Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA) spring convention voted to support the Lavender Greens’ objection to the recent actions of the Georgia Green Party (GGP). This support had been requested by Vice-chair Garret Wassermann of the Green Party of Allegheny County, who had objected to homophobic language in a GGP statement.

ALBANY, NY – There has been considerable discussion over the last few weeks within the Green Party about transgender rights. The Lavender Caucus of the Green Party of the United States issued a statement calling on the state Green Party of Georgia to retract its endorsement of the “Declaration on Women’s Sex-Based Rights” or face decertification by the national party. Some Greens have condemned Georgia’s actions outright while others have called for a respectful dialogue to facilitate understanding of the different points of view.

From the Executive Leadership of the National Black Caucus of the Green Party of the United States
https://www.gp.org/caucuses#black

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 28, 2020

Contact:
Darryl! LC Moch, co-chair, nubianphoenix1@gmail.com
Robin Harris, co-chair, harris4six@gmail.com

By Madelyn Hoffman
December 23, 2019

On December 17th, the U.S. Senate, by a vote of 86-8, passed the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). This bill increases the military budget to an obscene $738 billion. Senator Cory Booker did not vote. Neither did Senators Harris, Klobuchar, Sanders or Warren. How can presidential candidate Booker speak out in a national interview exactly one month ago today about the need to contain military spending and executive power in declaring war and then not vote on the NDAA which both increases military spending and fails to rein in executive power? This is unacceptable -- New Jersey is the loser here.

HUNTINGTON, NY – The Green Party of Suffolk continues its support of Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR). TDOR is a worldwide event held every November to raise awareness about discrimination, violence, and murder directed against transgender (living as or expressing a gender other than the one expected at birth), intersex (biologically in-between or outside male and female), and gender-nonconforming (acting in any way contrary to gender stereotypes) people, to commemorate the lives of transgender, intersex and gender-nonconforming people around the world who have been killed due to this kind of discrimination and violence within the past year, making a more safe, understanding, and accepting world.

The Lavender (LGBTQIA+) Caucus is asking for your support by attending or participating in The Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR),  which is commerated yearly on November 20.

Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) was started in 1999 by transgender advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith as a vigil to honor the memory of Rita Hester, a transgender woman who was killed in 1998. The vigil commemorated all the transgender people lost to violence since Rita Hester's death, and began an important tradition that has become the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance.

TDOR vigils are often community based and organized by local organizations. By attending a vigil you can help:

• Raise awareness about discrimination, violence, and murder directed against transgender (living as or expressing a gender other than the one expected at birth), intersex (biologically in-between or outside male and female), and gender-nonconforming (acting in any way contrary to gender stereotypes) people.
  
  
• Commemorate the lives of transgender, intersex and gender-nonconforming people around the world who've been killed due to this kind of discrimination and violence within the past year.
  
  
• Show the solidarity of transgender, intersex and gender-nonconforming people as well as friends and supporters.
  
  
• Make a safer, more understanding and accepting world for people of all genders.

While anyone who does not fit rigid gender stereotypes may be targeted for this kind of violence, the trends in reported attacks and murders on transgender, intersex and gender-nonconforming people show the intersectionality of oppressions. Transgender Women Of Color, also known as TWOC, are disproportionately targeted and murdered, including TWOC who live in economically disadvantaged areas, showing the connections between transphobia (hate directed against transgender people), misogyny (hatred of women) and trans misogyny (hatred against transgender women), racism and economic discrimination/oppression.

The Green Party believes in the inherent basic right of all people to identify as being the gender they know themselves to be and the right to express themselves freely and with dignity and safety, without having to fear being discriminated against, attacked or murdered. We oppose violence of any form, and especially violence directed against people expressing their gender.

As TDOR fits with the Green Party pillars of Social Justice and Non-Violence and our work as a Caucus to advocate for the dignity, rights and safety of people of all genders, we of the Lavender LGBTIQA+ Caucus are asking the entire Green Party to support TDOR and events being held to commemorate TDOR.

For more information about TDOR here are some websites for further reading:

Transgender Day of Remembrance Memorial List:
https://tdor.info/

Transgender Law Center:
https://transgenderlawcenter.org/

GLADD Transgender Memoria:
https://www.glaad.org/blog/tdor-memoriam

National Transgender Equality Center:
https://transequality.org/issues/resources/national-transgender-discrimination-survey-full-report

TransJustice at the Audre Lorde Project:
https://alp.org/transjustice/

Lavender Green Caucus
November 20, 2019

Today, June 28, 2019, is the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising that sparked the militant gay liberation movement and was the seed of PRIDE festivals and widespread advocacy for LGBTQIA rights. Today, we commemorate Stonewall and commit to continuing to work for equal rights for all. The Howie Hawkins 2020 campaign stands in solidarity with people seeking equal justice under law and for a society that is accepting and welcoming of the entire spectrum of human gender and sexuality. We oppose prejudice on any front including toward that continuum of sexuality, which our culture is only beginning to understand.

When I joined the Army over 27 years ago, I was asked three times if I had sex with a partner of the same sex. I was asked twice if I used illegal drugs. This was the first evidence I saw of structural prejudice towards the LGBTQ+ community.

When Bill Clinton became president, in a half-hearted attempt to allow equal rights of LGBTQ+, he instituted the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” program that said if you are willing to stay in the closet, you can serve your country. Don’t forget under President Clinton, the Defense of Marriage Act passed, preventing the marriage of same sex couples.