The Center would like to extended a huge thank you to all of the people who made the event possible, the performers (of course) the garden for providing it’ the space, the volunteers and all the donors.

Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie talks about the Center

At a party in October 2002, Gwen Araujo was “outed” as transgender. Discovering this young woman was not biologically female, three men tied her up, beat her repeatedly, strangled her and dumped the body miles away.

In august of 1995 a car accident turned fatal for Tyra Hunter. Discovering that she had male genitalia, EMT’s stopped caring for her and made crude jokes while she bled to death.

Robert Eads wouldn’t have turned any heads if he walked down the street. He was a man like any other, except that Robert had been born a girl. He still had ovaries, and he developed ovarian cancer. Over twenty doctors refused to treat his cancer because they did not want a transgender patient.

Early last year a good friend of mine decided that he had had one too many slights and assaults from a world that felt “she” should not be allowed to live “her” life as “she” truly was, a man. He was found hanging in his basement by his loving wife. His passing was devastating to all who knew him.

It is stories like this, and there are way too many to mention, that led Gwendolyn Ann Smith to found the first Transgender Day of Remembrance. The day memorializes all those who have died as a result of outright hatred, or simple callous disregard.

This fall the Des Moines LGBT community celebrated the day of remembrance at the state capitol for the first time. We gathered, we spoke our minds, and our hearts. The governor, Chet Chulver issued a proclamation recognizing the day. It was a simple act, motivated I would like to think, by human compassion.

For this he is now being attacked by conservatives. Chuck Hurley of the Iowa Family Policy Center has accused Culver of promoting “sexual confusion and deviant behavior”. They want to paint the governor as evil because he acknowledged to suffering of one small minority.

As a member of the transgender community I am outraged. Apparently it is not enough to prevent my community from having full civil rights. These people spend millions preventing gays from being able to marry, they lobby in Washington to keep words like sexual orientation and gender identity out of the ENDA (employee Non-Discrimination Act) so they can fire us for who we are.

Now they want our sorrow. You can’t have it. You have no right to it. You have 364 days to paint us as “deviants” and call us nasty names. We have one. One day where we remember these people, not as you see them, but as we see them. One day when Gwen is not a “tranny” but a beautiful young woman who had her whole life ahead of her. A life that was taken from her. One day where Robert wasn’t a “freak” but a kind man and a loving husband. One day where my friend did not have to die, because nobody hated him without even knowing him.

Chuck Hurley, if you don’t want us to have a “special day” then stop hating us. Stop telling people it’s okay to hate us because we are different. Stop calling us deviants. Because when you tell people that it’s okay to hate us, some of those people are going to get it into their heads that this means it is also okay to kill us. And that is what has created the need for a Transgender Day of Remembrance in the first place.

Since the Center, a project of Equality Iowa, opened it’s door on June 1^st, 2009 it has had an eventful history. It’s first six months have been in the words of director Sandy Volpalka “a learning experience.”

Over a thousand visitors have passed through the doors of the Center in it’s first six months. 300 have directly benefited from one to the Center’s many programs. The Center is host to five support groups; TransformationsIowa (for Transgendered people) SOFFA-Iowa (for friends and family of trans people) The Roundtable (women of color), Rainbow youth and allies (25yrs and younger) and a Bi support group.

The challenges facing the LGBT community are many and diverse. The staff and volunteers have been a direct resource for people in need on many issues. We have talked to people who were feeling suicidal, helped people relocate into healthier living places, provided space and computers to those needing to find new jobs, provided clothing to those in need and helped people access health care.

We have held a number of events as well. We held an alcohol free Halloween party, a Thanksgiving meal, and another holiday meal on New Years day. In October we honored the Transgender Day of Remembrance. It was the first time that this date has been honored in Des Moines Iowa. Governor Culver issued a proclamation for the event, and we were joined by Pauline Park, a noted Trans advocate from New York.

Thanks to the Center, two staff were able to go to the Equality Conference in St. Louis. Three members of TransformationsIowa were able to go to the Transohio conference.

None of this would have been possible without help. The center has logged 150 volunteer hours each month and 1,400 items have been donated. The center has received financial assistance from the Conlin Family foundation, Crossroads United Church of Christ in Indianola, and many individual donors.

Looking forward to 2010, the Center is dedicated to continuing it’s success. We have new groups starting, including a coming out group, a lesbian support group, a grief group, an elder’s group and men of color. We are co-sponsors of Equality: Red Blue, Purple and Lobby day on February 10^th.

The center has several grant requests to help with funding. However it is not corporate funders that will keep the Center open, it is you. We need volunteers to do everything from keeping the doors open to planning and working at fundraisers and events. We need individuals to donate as well. Financial help is always welcome, and donations can be made online through our fiscal agent, Equality Iowa and Equalityiowa.org. Material donations of office supplies, clean used clothing for the clothing closet and other things can be brought down to the center at 1300 locust during business hours 12pm to 6pm Monday through Saturday.

Come check us out and help make 2010 the best year yet at the Center.

Friday November 20th,  a crowd of LGBT folks gathered on the steps of the state capitol to honor the Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR). Trans-activist Gwendolyn Ann Smith founded the day of rememberance in 1998 after the murder of Rita Hester. Since that time Gwen has kept a website with the names of those who have been victims of hate crimes. http://www.gender.org/remember/about/core.html

This was the first year that the local community has publically recognized the event. We had two very special guests to help us make it a special night. Our guest speaker was Pauline Park. Pauline is a noted trans-activist from New York.  She has more than ten years experience in community building and helped found NYAGRA, New York Association for Gender Rights Advocacy. http://www.nyagra.com/

The other guest was Preston Daniels, former Des Moines mayor and current director of the states Department of Human Rights. Mr. Daniels read a proclamation signed by the governer recognizing Nov. 20th as Iowa’s Transgender Day of Remembrance.

 Pauline gave a short speech on the steps of the capitol and then graced us with her presence at the Center afterwards for a potluck, a viewing of her documentary and a question and answer session. She was an informative and interesting speaker, and I learned a great deal from her.

Many people worked hard to make this event happen. All of them deserve our thanks. In particular I would like to thank Jayden for all his hard work on this event, Sandy from the center, Pauline, and Preston Daniels.

(October 22, 2009, Washington, DC) In an historic move, the United States Senate, by a vote of 68 to 29, joined the House of Representatives in passing The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which will be the first federal law to include gender identity and transgender people. Once signed by the President, this law will add sexual orientation, gender identity, gender and disability to the categories included in existing federal hate crimes law and will allow local governments who are unable or unwilling to address hate crimes to receive assistance from the federal government. President Obama has indicated that he will sign the bill into law.

“Transgender people have been waiting so many years for assistance from the federal government in addressing the rampant and disproportional violence that we face,” noted Mara Keisling, Executive Director of the National Center for Transgender Equality. “Today we move one step closer to our goal of ending violence motivated by hatred. Everyone in America deserves to live free of fear and of violence. We know that the dedicated leadership and hard work of Senator Kennedy and Representative Conyers and many other legislators made the passage of this bill possible. Words can’t really express our gratitude for their commitment to equality for all people.”

In the past, federal law has only mentioned gender identity in a negative context, such as explicitly excluding transgender people from the Americans with Disabilities Act. The passage of the hate crimes bill marks a significant turning point from the days in which the federal government contributed to the oppression of transgender people to today when federal law takes action to protect our lives.

The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act will have a number of positive impacts. First, it will help educate law enforcement about the frequent hate violence against transgender people and the need to prevent and appropriately address it. Second, it will help provide federal expertise and resources when it is needed to overcome a lack of resources or the willful inaction on the part of local and/or state law enforcement. Third, it will help educate the public that violence against anyone is unacceptable and illegal.

Transgender people continue to be disproportionately targeted for bias motivated violence. Thirteen states and Washington, DC have laws which include transgender people in state hate crimes laws.

About NCTE

The National Center for Transgender Equality is a national social justice organization devoted to ending discrimination and violence against transgender people through education and advocacy on national issues of importance to transgender people. By empowering transgender people and our allies to educate and influence policymakers and others, NCTE facilitates a strong and clear voice for transgender equality in our nation’s capital and around the country. The National Center for Transgender Equality is a 501(c)3 organization.

Three members of the Des Moines based Transgender group, Transformations Iowa, recently went to the second annual TransOhio conference in Columbia, Ohio. The conference was held at the Columbia Law University in downtown Columbia.

The conference drew over 160 guests from all over the region, from Iowa to New York. Among the presenters were some nationally recognized names.

The keynote speaker for the weekend was Helen Boyd, author of “my husband Betty”. Helen writes, speaks and teaches courses aimed at the significant others and family of transgendered people. Watching her husband go through the process of transition, Helen has become a remarkably insightful and strongly out spoken ally for the entire LGBT community.

Mara Keisling, director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, gave a wonderfully informative speech at the conference, and a witty stand up routine at the Wall Street club later that night. She is truly a woman of many talents.

Also presenting were Dr. Christine McGin, a noted surgeon, Tamara McKenzie Allison, a prominent Columbia Lawyer and Barbie Rogers, noted intersex activist. The presentations were high quality and very informative.

The community of TransOhio was friendly and welcoming, taking conference participants to two different clubs and a nice brunch on Sunday before things wound down. We were treated to a wonderful stand up comedy show by Mara and Karen Patrick, as well as a powerfully moving show by drag king Adam Apple. It was an amazing time for all.

As one of the Iowa contingent, this weekend also brought home to me just how lucky I am to live in Iowa. We live in a great state with clean air, marriage equality and many civil rights that others, even in progressive cities like Columbia, struggle for. We came home with many new ideas, but also a deeper appreciation for the state and community we had left behind.

Trangendered people are no strangers to pain and adversity. Yet, often, pain is what leads us to growth and paradoxically, joy.

This summer members of Des Moines’ local transgendered support group, TransformationsDsm, have struggled with the deep pain of losing a beloved member. One of our founders, and our facilitator, Jeff Lanman, took his life.

Jeff was a remarkable human being. From the first moment I met him, I knew he cared for and accepted me. I was not alone, almost every member has said as much. He was deeply committed to making the group a safe and supportive place for transgender people. He met everyone where they were. Unlike so many groups, ours was a group open to anyone: FTM, MTF, pre- post, and non-op, crossdressers, etc. Many were “out” but Jeff was very respectful of those who were not, going to great length to insure their comfort.

Just as his life touched and changed so many of us, and so did his death. For some, it brought home the realities of being trans, of being part of a group with a higher suicide rate than combat vets. For others it was a wake up call. Jayden, a long time friend of Jeff’s, was unequivocal, “I will not let another trans person die.”

For the entire group, Jeff’s death and the turmoil it left in its wake has been a time to reflect. We have spent many hours discussing the group, what Jeff would have wanted to see done, and how his untimely demise motivated us to reach out to each other in new ways.

It is from this pain that growth has come. At our August meeting transformationsDsm voted unanimously to become Transformations Iowa, a state wide support and outreach organizations for transgendered people. We will continue to love and support each other locally as Jeff taught us. But we will now also be reaching out, online and in person, to people all over Iowa.

As remarkable as he was, Jeff was but one of many in the local Trans community. They all defy the stereotypes that critics cast of us as a group. We are a witty, lively, lovely collection of human beings who have shown great courage and wisdom by finding our true selves and living everyday of our lives honestly. I am incredibly pleased to be able to introduce this group to a larger audience.

We are working on a stronger web presence and currently have members developing pages on Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. Jayden (the transgender outreach coordintor for the Center) is another availbe contact person for this group.