Letter from SDNYC Club President: Together, we'll fight Trump. And win!

Friends - 

We knew our community would have a fight on its hands from the moment Donald Trump took the oath of office on January 20th. Since that day, the onslaught has been endless and it isn't stopping. We need to prepare for the long-haul and we need your support.

Just this week, the Trump administration killed a Census Bureau proposal that, for the first time ever, counted LGBT people during the 2020 Census. This comes on the heels of the Trump removing all LGBT questions from the National Older Americans Survey. By not counting us, they are trying to hide the size and strength of the LGBT community. We fought hard for the recognition and rights we have today, and we will not let the Trump administration drive us back into the shadows of the closet. We must push back by being out, loud, and proud. 

Trump's team is doing everything it can to chip away at the advances of the past 60 years -- you see it in the anti-immigration raids, discriminatory executive actions, and of course the outrageous promotion of lies designed to divide our country. New York cannot stand for this, and we must respond and resist. As the city's largest LGBT-Democratic club, SDNYC must ensure our community is at the forefront of that resistance.

As members, we can organize and hold meetings. But we need to be able to do more. 

With your support, we can organize rallies that make our collective voices heard from Christopher Street to Trump Tower to the White House and all the way to Mar-a-Lago.

With your support, we can hold our elected officials accountable to make sure they are doing all they can to protect us from an increasingly hostile Federal government.

Stonewall has been fighting for our community for decades and we are ready to double down on our efforts -- but we can't do it without your contribution of $10, $20 or more today.

Together, we'll fight Trump. And win.

Thank you,

Rose Christ, President SDNYC

Action Alert: Tell New York State Students Are More Than Test Scores

Action Alert: Tell New York State Students Are More Than Test Scores

March 20th Deadline

The New York State Education Department (NYSED) is seeking input on how to measure school quality. LGBT parents and students know this means more than just test scores, and includes how safe and valued students feel in the classroom.

We need folks to take the NYSED Survey and on ITEMS #31 & #41 (on the second page), tell NYSED you strongly want SCHOOL CLIMATE as an indicator of school success. The quality of the climate may be the single most predictive factor in any school’s capacity to promote student achievement. 

Positive school climate, where students feel safe and valued, is connected to higher academic achievement, test-scores, graduation rates, and participation in school life, and lower truancy, bullying, and drop-out rates.  Positive school climate is essential for LGBT student success. 

If you aren't an informed educator or engaged parent, you can skip the other questions, but it is vital that they see our community cares not just about test scores but whole students as people. 

SDNYC March Meeting - LGBT Immigrants in NYC

SDNYC March Meeting

March 22 | 8pm | LGBT Center

click here to RSVP & share with your friends on Facebook

Join SDNYC for a conversation about the needs of LGBT Immigrants in NYC. We will be joined by:
--Council Member Carlos Menchaca
--Sebastian Maguire, Co-Founder of Seeking Asylum & Finding Empowerment (SAFE). 
--Luis Mancheno, Equality NY Board Member and an Immigration and LGBT Attorney who helped to secure the release of five detainees at the JFK Airport
Other guest speakers and details TBA.

Upcoming Events & Activities

TOMORROW - March with SDNYC in the St. Pats For All Parade!

THIS SUNDAY -- March 5th, 2017 | 1pm | Sunnyside Queens

See below for more information about joining SDNYC at the 18th annual St. Pats for All Parade & don't forget to RSVP/invite your friends to join us on Facebook!

Time:
1:00pm -- Assembly & Remarks
2:00pm -- Parade Step-Off

Meeting Location: 42nd St and Skillman Ave in Sunnyside  (look for the SDNYC banner when you arrive at meeting location)

Parade Route: 
From-- 43rd St and Skillman Ave in Sunnyside
To -- 58st St and Woodside Ave in Woodside

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Tele-Town Hall w/ National Equity Action Team (NEAT)

Monday, March 6 | 8pm | Phonecall (click here to sign up) 

Between Trump’s rescinding of transgender guidance for students, to the upcoming Supreme Court case of Gavin Grimm, there has been a lot in the news lately affecting our community. To help make sense of it all, we are excited to partner with the National Equality Action Team (NEAT) to host a tele-Town Hall on the evening of Monday, March 6 to give you the information you need and want. Sign up here www.theNEAT.org/townhall to call in!

Join us as we break these events down, talk about why it matters and answer your questions. We will discuss issues such as what Title IX is and how it affects LGBTQ people, the raminfications of rescinding the guidance for transgender students, the implications of the upcoming Grimm case at the Supreme Court, as well as provid an opportunity to answer as many of your questions as we can.

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Rally To Raise Awareness of Violence Against Trans Women Of Color

March 26 | 5:30pm | Jackie Robinson Park (Harlem)

Since January 1, 2017 seven trans women of color have lost their lives - all but one was under 35. 

Violence towards transgender women of color is an epidemic and one that must be addressed immediately.

Join SDNYC and a coaliton of LGBT Community Leaders on March 26, 2017 at 5:30pm in Jackie Robinson Park for a rally to raise public awareness of the ongoing epidemic of physical violence being perpetrated against transgender women of color. More information & RSVP link TBA.

Rally participants will seek to engage our elected officials and community members and to build alliances with those who are ready committed to working with the trans community to find solutions in the following key areas:

• Law—The need for further legal protections for transgender women to keep them safe from violence and discrimination.
• Housing—Addressing homelessness and the cofactors that exist that lead to transgender women facing a lack of safe, affordable housing.
• Job training—Preparing transgender women of color for employment by offering free skills-building workshops/courses.
• Education—Making education a reality for those who wish to attend school free from harassment and bullying.
• Social Media—A nationwide campaign to educate and raise awareness about transgender communities of color.
• Funding—A recognition that securing funding is essential in order to move our agenda forward. It is essential to put funding dollars behind these goals if we are to succeed.

Click here to read the full press release and learn more.

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Housing Needs Survey for LGBTQ Seniors in NYC

The NYC Council, the Stonewall Community Development Corporation, and SAGE have launched an online survey that will help to assess the housing needs of LGBTQ Seniors in NYC. Click the following link to access the survey which will be online until April 15, 2017: www.lgbtsurvey.org

Seven Trans Women of Colors Killed in USA in 2017 - NY LGBT Community To Hold Rally on 3.26.17

Three Transgender Women of Color Murdered in One Week- LGBT Service Providers and Allies Outraged

March 3, 2017 - To date, seven trans women of color have lost their lives this year. All but one was under 35. Violence towards transgender women of color is an epidemic and one that must be addressed immediately. The New York LGBT coalition would like to express our condolences to the families and friends of Ms. Chyna Gibson of New Orleans, Ms. Ciara McElveen of New Orleans, Ms. Keke Collier of Chicago and Ms. Jaquarrius Holland of Monroe, Louisiana. Ms. Gibson, a well-known performer and part of the House and Ballroom community, was gunned down while visiting her family in New Orleans during Mardi Gras. We also express our condolences to the family and friends of Ciara McElveen. Ms. McElveen was stabbed in New Orleans hours after the murder of Ms. Gibson by a man in an automobile, who fled the scene. Ms. Keke Collier was shot dead in Chicago on February 21, 2017. Ms. Holland was killed on February 19th, 2017. Her homicide is only coming to light now, due to local press mis- gendering the victim.

We must be tireless in raising awareness of the ongoing epidemic of physical violence being perpetrated against transgender women of color, even as we are also engaged in protesting the political assault on the protections for transgender youth by the federal administration and other transgender rights. We call for solidarity with our transgender sisters of color. We call attention to the prejudice and discrimination many transgender women, especially those of color, experience on a daily basis, and we especially call on our allies to raise awareness by standing in solidarity with us.  We seek to begin a national discussion about concrete actions we can take to protect our sisters most basic of all human rights: the right to exist.

A rally will be held at Jackie Robinson park in Harlem on March 26, 2017 at 5:30pm. We seek to raise awareness of this epidemic, making our elected officials and community members aware of this crisis while seeking to educate and build allies. We are committed to finding solutions in:

1. Law—The need for further legal protections for transgender women to keep them safe from violence and discrimination.
2. Housing—Addressing homelessness and the cofactors that exist that lead to transgender women facing a lack of safe, affordable housing.
3. Job training—Preparing transgender women of color for employment by offering free skills-building workshops/courses.
4. Education—Making education a reality for those who wish to attend school free from harassment and bullying.
5. Social Media—A nationwide campaign to educate and raise awareness about transgender communities of color.
6. Funding—A recognition that securing funding is essential in order to move our agenda forward. It is essential to put funding dollars behind these goals if we are to succeed.

We sign this letter in solidarity with and for our transgender sisters of color. Our goal is to show that they are not alone in this fight. We will mourn for the lives lost, but fight like hell for the living. (list in formation)

• Destination Tomorrow
• Bronx Trans Collective (BTC)
• Trans PAC
• Community Kinship Life (CK Life)
• New York Transgender Advocacy Group (NYTAG)
• Translatina Network
• The NYC Equality Coalition
• Harlem Pride
• Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund
• Ali Forney Center
• Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club
• Immigration Equality
• Make the Road NY (MRNY)
• PFLAG NYC
• NYC’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center
• NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer
• Public Advocate Letitia James
• NYS Senator Brad Hoylman
• Assembly Member Richard Gottfried
• Assembly Member Deborah J. Glick
• Council Member Corey Johnson
• Council Member Ritchie Torres
• Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer
• Council Member Daniel Dromm
• Council Member James Vacca
• Council Member Carlos Menchaca
• Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer
• Lambda Independent Democrats of Brooklyn
• Human Rights Campaign, GNY
• Hetrick-Martin Institute
• Transgender Liberation Project
• Equality New York
• The LGBT Bar Association of Greater New York (LeGaL)
• Stonewall Democratic Club of NYC (SDNYC)
• GLAAD
• GMHC
• Black Lesbian Conference 2018
• Black Trans Advocacy - NY 
• Circle of Voices, Inc
• Depressed Black Gay Men
• Gatekeepers
• Global Network of Black Pride
• LGBT Faith Leaders of African Descent
• NYC Black Pride
• NYC Pride & Power
• LGBT Faith Leaders of African Descent
• Rivers of Living Water Ministries
• Under Our Umbrella
• Gay & Lesbian Independent Democrats
• Lesbian and Gay Democratic Club of Queens
• GLSEN New York City
• The New York City Anti-Violence Project (AVP)