Athens, Ga. – The University of Georgia Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Resource Center will observe Transgender Awareness Week with several events Nov. 18-20.
Transgender activist Luna Merbruja will conduct a workshop titled “Liberation From The Margins: How To Fight Racial, Gender, and Queer Violence” on Nov. 18 at 2 p.m. in Room 141 of the Tate Student Center. The workshop will focus on the struggles and violence that queer, transgender and/or people of color face in their homes, workplaces and intimate relationships.
Participants will be given an opportunity to share their experiences of survival, resistance and strategies to address violence, as well as skill sharing to create communities that support one another.
Merbruja will deliver a keynote monologue at 6:30 p.m. in Room B2 of the main library. The performance will be dedicated to the memory of activist Sylvia Rivera and other transgender women of color who fought for liberation.
The performance will illustrate how four decades of resilience has created a platform for queer and transgender liberation to permeate mainstream culture, in which there are visible queer and transgender people of color on news channels, in network series, in magazines and on the New York Times Best Seller list.
On Nov. 19, a Transgender Ally Workshop is scheduled to help students, faculty and staff become better allies to the transgender community. Sessions are scheduled in the Tate Student Center from 12:30-1:30 p.m. and from 5-6 p.m. in Room 138.
A Transgender Day of Remembrance display will be placed on the Tate Plaza on Nov. 20 from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The display is designed to raise awareness and to memorialize individuals killed due to hatred and prejudice based on their gender identity and/or expression.
Jon Hurst, director of the LGBT Resource center, said celebrating transgender culture is central to the center’s work.
“Our goal in the LGBT Resource Center is to create a more inclusive community here at UGA,” he said. “The goal of this week is to celebrate trans identities and the issues that face this community and acknowledge the gender diversity that exists in the world.”
All programs are free and no pre-registration is required.
Transgender Awareness Month is observed globally in November in memory of those who have lost their lives to hatred and prejudice based on their gender identity and/or expression. Transgender Day of Remembrance is held each year on Nov. 20.
The LGBT Resource Center is a unit within UGA’s Division of Student Affairs.
For more information, call 706-542-4077 or see http://lgbtcenter.uga.edu.
The Division of Student Affairs comprises 19 campus departments that enhance the learning environment for students at the University of Georgia by stimulating the learning process, integrating the in-class and out-of-class experiences, promoting an environment conducive to growth and discovery and facilitating intellectual, spiritual, social, occupational, physical, cultural and emotional development. For more information, see http://studentaffairs.uga.edu.
