Volunteers distribute flags ahead of upcoming Transgender Awareness Week, Day of Remembrance
SALT LAKE CITY — You’ll soon start seeing striped pink, white, and blue flags popping up in Utah neighborhoods ahead of Trans Awareness Week.
More than 200 volunteers with Project Rainbow Utah staked more than 1,100 flags across Salt Lake, Ogden, and Logan Sunday afternoon in solidarity with the transgender community.
The Transgender Day of Remembrance honors those who have been murdered because of anti-transgender violence. Transgender Awareness Week begins Nov. 13 and ends on Transgender Day of Remembrance on Nov. 19.
“After a difficult week, this is medicine to our souls,” said Jacey Thornton, Project Rainbow’s executive director. “To have volunteers here to talk, hug, cry, scream, rage and laugh with each other is so important. It’s one of the best medicines we have.”
The trans flags are popping up after President-elect Donald Trump said he plans to roll back transgender rights during his second term in office. His plan includes rolling back the Biden administration’s policy of extending Title IX civil rights protections to transgender students and asking Congress to require that only two genders are recognized at birth, according to the Associated Press.
Thornton said they’ve seen a surge in volunteers since election day.
Jason Black, who staked about 30 flags Sunday afternoon, considered the event an outlet.
“There’s a lot of feelings everyone has post-election about things that are going to happen to marginalized communities and disenfranchised folks,” Black explained. “To have a tangible way to jump right in and show support and feel like you’re a part of a community feels more satisfying than feeling frustrated and sad.”
Transgender Day of Remembrance was founded in 1999 by transgender advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith. The advocate set up a vigil to honor Rita Hester, a transgender woman who was killed in 1998 in Massachusetts, and all transgender people lost to violence that year.
“It’s going to be messy. We’re used to this, we’re used to leaning on each other and finding trans and queer joy in the midst of obstacles,” Thornton said.
Project Rainbow, founded in 2018, stakes rainbow flags at homes and businesses to support and raise funds for LGBTQ+ organizations, events, and projects.
“We’re resilient,” Thornton said. “We’ll be here.”
