Homepage

Governor Hochul Announces Transgender Awareness Month Governor Hochul Announces Transgender Awareness Month

The celebrations turned from a week to a month in New York State

By Alexa Gonzalez

Alexa Gonzalez: Governor Kathy Hochul just announced November as Transgender Awareness month in New York, as a way to further to celebrate the trans community across the state. CNY Pride Vice President of Development Jimmy Monto says this is a big deal for the trans community as it gives more days in the month to recognize its members but there is still a lot of work to be done.

Jimmy Monto: So the awareness is great for a month, but the fight has to be January 1st through
December 31st every year for as long as we are all roaming this earth.

Gonzalez: For non binary student Evan Beers this proclamation can only bring
better things. Their journey to discovering who they are started in the summer of 2021.

Evan Beers: Really what it was for me was just sitting down and really critically thinking about gender and how it intersects with myself and how it doesn’t have to in all the ways that growing up your told that it does.

Gonzalez: LGBTQ rights advocacy group the Human Rights Campaign says in 2022 alone 32 trans and gender non conforming people have been killed. Beers says they think we are still a long ways away from making this a national awareness month where every state is accepting.

Beers: I am hopeful that with the right amount of education and awareness hopefully we can get
people to come around on that.

Gonzalez:
As the month comes to a close November 20th is the Transgender Day of Remembrance, a day to remember those who were killed as a result of senseless acts of violence against the community. Governor Hochul says some of New York State’s biggest landmarks like the New York State Fairgrounds here in Syracuse will be lit up in pink white and light blue to honor those lives lost.
Reporting from Syracuse
Alexa Gonzalez NCC News

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) – On Wednesday, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the month of November will now be recognized as Transgender Awareness month in New York State. What was once only a week running from Nov. 13 to Nov. 19  to commemorate trans lives and struggles is now officially the month

Evan Beers is a non-binary student. For a lot of their life, they struggled with the idea of stepping outside of the gender binary, said Beers. They took the initiative to start educating themselves about breaking down these gender binary walls.

“I started to see myself outside of the binary. I didn’t feel like I only fit into the label of a man,” said Beers.

This new proclamation is a big deal as it will elevate the recognition of trans people and give more days in a month to recognize those members of the community, said the Vice President of Development at CNY Pride, Jimmy Monto.  Members are hopeful people will now take some more time to educate themselves about trans struggles. But the fight does not end here because when the month is over the struggle still continues, said Monto.

“So the awareness is great for a month, but the fight has to be January 1st through December 31st every year for as long as we are all roaming this earth,” said Monto.

In just 2022 alone, 32 trans and gender non-confirming people have been killed, according to the Human Rights Campaign, an American LGBTQ advocacy group.

Some major New York State landmarks will be lit up with pink, white and light blue lights on Nov. 20 in honor of Transgender Remembrance day, said Hochul. This is a day to remember the trans people killed because of senseless violence and hatred toward the community.

Related Articles