On Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV) (March 31) trans leaders and various elected officials promised resilience, visibility and collective strength in the face of numerous and increasingly dangerous attacks on transgender rights at a City Hall press conference organized by trans-led organizations Brave Space Alliance, Chicago Therapy Collective, Life is Work,
Speakers included Brave Space Alliance Executive Director Chanynn Lynne Parker; Chicago Therapy Collective Executive Director Iggy Ladden; Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRDGS) Commissioner Precious Brady-Davis; Life is Work Board Chair Caprice Carthans; Trans Up Front of Illinois Executive Director Asher McMaher; Illinois state Rep. Kelly Cassidy (14th District); Chicago Ald. Lamont Robinson, who is also City Council LGBTQ+ Caucus Chair (4th Ward); Chicago Alds. Maria Hadden (49th Ward) and Jessie Fuentes (26th Ward); Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison (15th District); Cook County Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Deputy Chief of Staff Mykel Selph; and Cook County Department of Human Rights and Ethics Executive Director Jennifer King.
Parker said she is “not here today asking to be seen” and that there is “nothing invisible about us.” She noted that many of the speakers and other leaders in attendance have been “historically ignored.” Parker called on everyone to “do no harm” and that she demands justice in “courtrooms, desks of law, policymakers and beyond” as well as equity and full access so trans people like herself can live full lives without interference. She added, “My liberation is wrapped up into yours.”
Ladden added, “As a therapist, trans person and nonbinary parent … we cannot live healthy and real lives as people without standing in the light of our truth. Our current President Donald Trump and his dystopian reality TV show of an administration are a threat to trans people and democracy. They are a threat to the very spirit of freedom that links the two. We are not one political party’s punching bag and another political party’s weakness. We are the very essence of what it means to be an American.”
Brady-Davis spoke about Michigan-based activist Rachel Crandall, who created TDOV in 2009 because she wanted to celebrate trans people while they are alive, not just when they are dead.
She said that the founders of the MWRDGC never could have imagined her, the first Black trans woman to be elected in Cook County, in this role where she helps protect the freshwater drinking source for over 5 million people, Lake Michigan. Brady-Davis added that despite the unrelenting attacks, hateful legislation and open bias and bigotry directed at them, her community still rises.
“Now more than ever trans people deserve to be seen, heard and affirmed,” said Brady-Davis. “Never before in our nation’s history has a president singled out trans people in his inaugural address, until Donald Trump. He and his allies have chosen to demonize us, scapegoat us and try to erase us. But here is the thing. We come from a legacy of resistance. Let me tell you, we aren’t going back into the shadows.”
Carthans said now is not the time to panic, hide or be terrified. She added that collaboration is so vital right now because every organization, including Life is Work, needs funds since they are being cut by the federal government.
McMaher, who leads the first deaf trans-led organization in Illinois, spoke about the march that was held the previous day in Chicago’s Loop where 50 coalition organizations, including theirs, came together to support the trans community and How important it is to keep coming together in community to fight back so no one is left behind.
Cassidy put out a challenge to her colleagues in elected office to “show unwavering and unblinking support for the most vulnerable in our community … to not pretend that there is a strategic reason to throw anyone under the bus … they need to stiffen their spines, open their hearts and understand that the path to victory is together.”
Robinson highlighted the LGBTQ+ legislation he helped get passed, including the K-12 LGBTQ+ inclusive history curriculum law he worked on with Cassidy. He said that because of the hate directed at the trans community people must be “clear about our unwavering support for our trans brothers and sisters.”
Hadden got the crowd to chant “trans rights are human rights,” adding that that trans people being scapegoated and told they don’t exist has happened before in history and that she knows what side of history she is on as an ally.
Fuentes said that during the Puerto Rican Parade she sees Pride and Trans flags waving from parade participants and viewers. She promised that the assault on trans people by the Trump Administration “will not happen without a fight … this administration will not disappear our trans and gender expansive siblings. It will not happen … We are not going back.”
Morrison spoke about being the first out LGBTQ+ person elected as a Cook County Commissioner and noted that there are now two other queer members, Commissioners Maggie Trevor, who was in attendance, and Anthony Quezada, who was unable to attend due to an illness.
Selph said that Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle sent her regrets at not being able to attend, and that she stands with the trans, nonbinary and gender expansive communities. Selph said that allies owe the trans community more than verbal support because they experience alarming rates of housing instability, healthcare access barriers and economic insecurity that are the result of discrimination, adding that Cook County officials will always stand by the trans community.
King spoke about the expansive human rights protections that have been enshrined into law in Cook County while acknowledging that there is still harassment, discrimination and hate directed at the trans community. She encouraged anyone who has experienced harassment or discrimination to file a complaint online or at human.rights@cookcountyil.gov.
To watch the entire press conference, visit the Cook County Government YouTube page.
A Chicago Therapy Collective hosted Share Your Voice, Move Your Body: TDOV 2025 community gathering town hall, dinner and dance party took place later that day at Bramble Arts Loft in the Andersonville neighborhood with a focus on deeper discussions. The event featured STI testing, a town hall, dinner and dance party.
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