Trans Universe

by Monica F. Helms

On June 27, 2009, the Transgender Community of Georgia gather at the First Existential Church in Atlanta, to honor the transgender heroes of the Stonewall Riots, 40 years ago in Greenwich Village. We had 300 people packed into the church to hear inspirational speeches from Pastor Paul Turner, Tracee McDaniel and Dr. Maxwell Anderson.

The six people who spoke that day are shown here in videos. We made a video for each speaker, presented in order from when they spoke.

We also presented to Georgia State Senator Vincent Fort and State Representative Karla Drenner a parchment with three of the most important concerns of the Transgender Community of Georgia. They promised us that they will read the list on the floor of the Georgia House and Senate during the next session in January.

The first video is that of Pastor Paul Turner. Pastor Turner gave the opening prayer and then spoke later on. I edited these two together for convenience.

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By Monica F. Helms

I have this wonderful part of my being that I like to pull out and play with every so often. Okay. I suppose that sentence could have been written differently. I am referring to my “imagination.” My imagination has play tricks on me quite often, but then I get many chances to tame it with the wave of my typing fingers. This happens to be one of those times.

On June 28, 1969, at about 3 AM EDT, one of the most pivotal events in LGBT history took place in front of the Stonewall Inn on Christopher St. in Greenwich Village. Like a super nova, the explosion that happened that morning expanded rapidly outward to engulf the entire planet with the sounds of millions clamoring for their equality and freedom. The events from that moment in time have continued to expand even today, 40 years later.

But, I have to ask the one most important question that hides within my imagination, waiting for the next time to appear. “What if?” Countless fiction writers have made a comfortable living asking those two famous words. So, I ask the question with the qualifying words that allow this piece of writing to continue. “What if the trans people at the Stonewall Inn that night did not have the guts to start the riots?”

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