NCTE, the National Center for Transgender Equality, demonstrates the importance of
trans-specific giving in the current post-ENDA LGBT community.
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By Dana Beyer | Contact
Dana Beyer, M.D. is a donor, a retired eye surgeon, and a well known advocate
for health issues as well as gender rights.
She practiced medicine and surgery
in D.C., Miami, Mississippi, Africa and Asia.
She was a candidate in 2006 for
State Delegate in Maryland.
She is Vice President of Equality Maryland,
Executive Vice President of Maryland NOW, member of the board of governors of
HRC, and board member of the National Center for Transgender Equality.
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You've all recently heard from me about my incredible state organization,
Equality Maryland. Now I would like to turn to the premier transgender advocacy
organization in the country, headquartered in D.C., the National Center for
Transgender Equality (NCTE).
HISTORY
NCTE was founded in
2003 by my friend and colleague, Mara Keisling. Mara has been the heart and
brain of the operation for the past five years, living her advocacy 24/7, often
to the point of burnout. Yet, under her leadership, and with the invaluable
assistance of her friend at the Task Force's Transgender Civil Rights Project,
Lisa Mottet, the U.S has seen nearly 38% of its population covered by state and
municipal-level civil rights protections. Most of this since 2001, under the
Bush administration – a phenomenal achievement. Having pushed through a similar
bill in my home county, Montgomery County, Maryland, this past fall, I can
attest to the invaluable assistance provided by both Mara and Lisa. And I am a
proud board member.
ENDA
I don't think I have to remind you
of the remarkable story of the ascendance of UnitedENDA this past fall,
propelled by Mara and Matt Foreman of the Task Force, with the help of Dave
Noble and many others who basically didn’t sleep for months. Many of you on this
listserve serve on the TF's board so there is no need to elaborate. The
phenomenal birth of a 350-member organization, representing approximately 2
million LGBT citizens, was made possible by the relationships nurtured over the
past five years between NCTE and the Task Force (which provided NCTE with its
first office space). It's a classic example of how people matter far more than
money.
DOCUMENTATION
Back to NCTE. Mara, besides being the
transgender community's leading lobbyist on the Hill, and the go-to person for
the networks and print media, works tirelessly (no exaggeration) on the even
more important and life-critical issues such as documentation. Many of you may
not be aware of the threats to life and limb a transitioning person is exposed
to due to incorrect ID, and the situation has deteriorated since 9/11 and the
near-institution of Homeland Security's "No Match" program, which would have
forced employer's to fire employees whose sex did not match Social Security
records. NCTE was one of the groups that convinced DHS to back off, and we hope
we can ride out the Bush Administration without any precedent being set.
FINANCIAL SUPPORT
It is this type of work, most of all,
which is in need of your financial support. I don't think I need to emphasize
that in the constellation of LGBT giving, transgender-specific giving is a
step-child. I made my first substantial contribution to the Task Force after my
transition, because I could earmark it to Lisa's program. But there are simply
not very many well-off trans people. Many of our board members can't afford to
attend our board meetings. We don't have a T-7; many trans persons assimilate
and go stealth after transition because life is simply too difficult out of the
closet. Our fight for a trans-inclusive ENDA was not a vanity issue – our
community is under housed, underemployed if not unemployed at frightening
levels, and as a result subject to the worst hate crimes in our nation.
Many of you have probably never given to a transgender-specific
organization; I ask you to seriously consider doing so now. Your contribution to
NCTE will have a far greater impact than one of a similar amount given to a much
larger organization. We don't have our own building; we can only now afford to
hire an office manager. We need to be able to hire more staff to free Mara up to
do what she does best.
ACCELERATING PROGRESS
This past fall
we put the transgender civil rights issue on the nation's radar. The Democratic
leadership now knows we exist. The media is rushing to create well-crafted trans
characters who can serve as role models rather than bogeymen. More trans people
are slowly coming out into the light, helping to educate a woefully ignorant
population. The issue of gender non-conformity, critical to the gay and lesbian
community but also to the larger straight community as well, is finally getting
attention. We are airing our differences and getting to know one another much
better.
Please consider contributing to that effort, and help bring a
fully-inclusive America closer to reality.
