A Trans Day of Visibility event is held at Hostos Community College 3/30/26 hosted by the Office of the Bronx Borough President & Destination Tomorrow, the Bronx’s designated LGBTQIA+ center.  addresses those gathered. V2 Video by Síle Moloney

Hostos President Daisy Cocco De Filippis, though present at the event, asked Rachel Colst of the Hostos LGBTQ+ council, to welcome everyone and read a statement on her behalf. In doing so, Colst referenced a City Council grant the college received of $30,000 to promote LGBT+ life on campus.

 

A Trans Day of Visibility event is held at Hostos Community College 3/30/26 hosted by the Office of the Bronx Borough President & Destination Tomorrow, the Bronx’s designated LGBTQIA+ center. NYC Human Rights Commissioner Christine Clarke addresses those gathered. V3 Video by Síle Moloney

“It is a sign that we are moving past the days when the trans community was marginalized in New York, and that we are one step closer to equality,” Colst read in part. “At Hostos, we believe in education as a pathway to empowerment, among other things, and today’s gathering reflects that belief in action, a space where voices are uplifted, identities are affirmed, and solidarity is made visible.”

A Trans Day of Visibility event is held at Hostos Community College 3/30/26 hosted by the Office of the Bronx Borough President & Destination Tomorrow, the Bronx’s designated LGBTQIA+ center. Council Member Justin Sanchez (C.D. 17) addresses those gathered. V4 Video by Síle Moloney

The representative from the attorney general’s office said it was a difficult time for the queer community. “We’ve seen reckless attacks on the LGBTQ community from this federal administration, attacks on funding for healthcare research, attacks on access to transgender care, attacks on transgender individuals’ basic rights, and attacks on our LGBTQ immigrants, but nevertheless, the attorney general’s office put in the work to win progress within our community and at every turn, the AG has stood firm against this administration and defense of all New Yorkers,” they said in part.

 

 

A Trans Day of Visibility event is held at Hostos Community College 3/30/26 hosted by the Office of the Bronx Borough President & Destination Tomorrow, the Bronx’s designated LGBTQIA+ center. Sage Rivera, deputy executive director of Destination Tomorrow, addresses those gathered. V5 Video by Síle Moloney

They went on to say in part that the AG’s office is actively enforcing anti-discrimination laws to protect the community’s rights as regards employment, housing, healthcare and more, has sued to protect funding for medical research benefiting the queer community, supported cases to fight conversion therapy and bans on transgender individuals’ rights to serve in the military, and spoken out to make it clear that New York remains an inclusive, supportive place for everyone.

 

A Trans Day of Visibility event is held at Hostos Community College 3/30/26 hosted by the Office of the Bronx Borough President & Destination Tomorrow, the Bronx’s designated LGBTQIA+ center.  addresses those gathered. V6 Video by Síle Moloney

“The attorney general has held hospitals and institutions accountable, making it clear that denying medical necessary care to a transgender individual is not just wrong but unlawful,” they said in part.

 

Christine Clark, commissioner of NYC Commission on Human Rights, thanked all those who made sure that New York City was a place where everyone could live “openly and safely and freely.” Clark said transgender and gender non-conforming people continued to face discrimination, harassment and violence every day, despite the support of their community and despite New York City having the strongest civil rights laws in the country.

A Trans Day of Visibility event is held at Hostos Community College 3/30/26 hosted by the Office of the Bronx Borough President & Destination Tomorrow, the Bronx’s designated LGBTQIA+ center.  addresses those gathered. V7 Video by Síle Moloney

“In this moment, visibility matters more than ever, because we are seeing efforts to erase trans people entirely from public life, efforts to deny identity, to restrict access to basic services, health care, and to make people feel like they do not belong,” Clark said. “So let me be clear, trans New Yorkers belong here.”

 

A Trans Day of Visibility event is held at Hostos Community College 3/30/26 hosted by the Office of the Bronx Borough President & Destination Tomorrow, the Bronx’s designated LGBTQIA+ center.  addresses those gathered. V8 Video by Síle Moloney

For his part, Sanchez said in part, “The media likes to talk a lot about trans people, but not about what trans people go through, not about what trans people have to live every single day, and not what it’s like to be the most marginalized.” The councilmember said there was a lot of talk in the media about the trans community “getting every resource under the God’s green earth” when they “sometimes can’t even sign up for food stamps” and “are being killed at astronomical rates.”

 

A Trans Day of Visibility event is held at Hostos Community College 3/30/26 hosted by the Office of the Bronx Borough President & Destination Tomorrow, the Bronx’s designated LGBTQIA+ center.  addresses those gathered. V9 Video by Síle Moloney

Sanchez added in part, “Trans people are less than 1% of the population, but 1% of this population is controlling astronomical proportions of this wealth and keeping everyone without the cookie, but they want us to fight for crumbs. Well, I refuse to continue to allow us to fight for crumbs, and that’s why I’m here to fight for the whole damn cookie.”

 

Sage Rivera, deputy executive director of Destination Tomorrow, thanked everyone for attending, adding in part, “As you know, we are here for a momentous, beautiful, and very purposeful occasion. Half of life is showing up, and you being here, walking through that door is a revolutionary act.”

A Trans Day of Visibility event is held at Hostos Community College 3/30/26 hosted by the Office of the Bronx Borough President & Destination Tomorrow, the Bronx’s designated LGBTQIA+ center.  addresses those gathered. V10 Video by Síle Moloney

During the panel discussion, Gonzalez highlighted that denying a trans person the cost of their medication exacerbated their mental health. Meanwhile, Asha Lyons of VNS Health, one of the panelists, talked about the importance of investing in trans youth. “Quite often you walk on this earth, wishing someone saw your value,” she said.

 

One of the other panelists talked about how HRT (hormone replacement therapy) is often overtly, in their view, focused on the trans community, even though it’s also used by menopausal women, for example. The same panelist talked about how older members of the trans community sometimes believe younger members of the community have it easier in terms of access to care, but the panelist mentioned how they still have difficulties when it comes to having such care covered by their health insurance company.

A Trans Day of Visibility event is held at Hostos Community College 3/30/26 hosted by the Office of the Bronx Borough President & Destination Tomorrow, the Bronx’s designated LGBTQIA+ center.  Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson addresses those gathered. V11 Video by Síle Moloney

The same panelist talked about having “transphobic” parents, with whom they no longer live, fears around having their personal address disclosed to their parents and more. The panelist also talked about how some trans-centered organizations were born out of the need to support trans youth due to the high numbers of vulnerable, often murdered trans youth.

 

The event concluded with an uplifting dance performance. Clark added that protecting trans rights was not just the responsibility of one agency or one community, but of every single person in the city.  The commissioner said, “To anybody here who has experienced discrimination or who knows someone who has, I see you, I believe you, and I’m here for you and here to help. Please call us.”

A Trans Day of Visibility event is held at Hostos Community College 3/30/26 hosted by the Office of the Bronx Borough President & Destination Tomorrow, the Bronx’s designated LGBTQIA+ center. Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson addresses those gathered. V12 Video by Síle Moloney

To read more on this topic, please visit www.norwoodnews.org or visit our YouTube channel where we will be posting some of the recordings of the event.

 

Destination Tomorrow is located at 452 East 149th Street, Bronx, and can be reached by phone on (646) 723-3325 Monday to Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. or via email on info@destinationtomorrow.org. More information can be found at www.destinationtomorrow.org.