The fifth annual Transgender Visibility March returned to D.C. on Aug. 24. (Washington Blade photo by Erkki Forster)
The fifth annual Transgender Visibility March returned to Washington, D.C. Aug. 24. This marked the first time the march has been back in D.C. since the inaugural event in 2019, which featured “Pose” star Angelica Ross and then-Human Rights Campaign president Alphonso David.
The Washington Blade caught up with Hope Giselle-Godsey, executive director of the march, as she got ready for the festivities.
BLADE: Would you mind telling me a little bit of background about yourself? How did you end up in the position of executive director of the Trans Visibility March?
GISELLE-GODSEY: I started with the March in 2018 when Marissa [Miller, the founder of the march,] reached out to me and asked me for my help. She realized that with my platform and everything that has been built, I would be the perfect person to do public-facing events. Of course, I jumped at the opportunity because when Marissa Miller calls you answer.
That turned into me just being called upon every year. This year I got that call, but it was a little different. She says to me, “Hope it is time for me to move out of the way, and I want there to be some new leadership, and I want to know if you’re willing to take on the mantle of leader of the March?”
That took me by surprise, one because I just wasn’t I didn’t know that I was in the running. It was a full circle moment, and it felt really good that someone who had mentored me in the space was willing to trust me with something that her and her partner, Lynn, had built from the ground up.
BLADE: Could you tell me a bit about the march? Why does it exist? What are its goals?
GISELLE-GODSEY: The March has a goal of making sure that we create visibility around the issues that are facing trans people every year, because, contrary to popular belief, they are not always the same. They don’t always look the same, and they are not maintained year to year.
For instance, this year, we’re heavily talking about the idea of voting. We’re also really digging deeper into our sexual health and what that component of the conversation looks like. What will be to truly figure out what sexual freedom looks like for people who are often taught that abstinence is the only way to feel sexually free? We just know that that’s not simply true.
We also have a focus on the youth. They’re going to have the torches passed to them at some point. We want to make sure that as we are activating and growing in this fight for trans visibility and equality that we are including the voices of tomorrow that are going to be taking up the mantle.
We have Jay Jones, who is the first trans student body president at Howard University, who is going to be opening the march with me tomorrow. We want to make sure that her voice is heard, and that folks understand that she is creating history at an HBCU as a Black trans woman. Those things deserve to be celebrated.
BLADE: Trans people face outsized violence. Protesters have faced rising violence. It is a point of bravery to be out on the streets like this, I am sure some people are nervous. Do you have any words about what it means to be marching, as a trans person?
GISELLE-GODSEY: It’s a true testament of being tired of following the status quo and allowing your fear to dictate what your freedom can look like.
People don’t understand the need to be visible in order to feel free. Marches like this help people to understand that if we aren’t seen, people can pretend like we don’t exist. That does us a disservice.
By creating the space in this March, you have to do it alone. It offers a lot of folks who would normally never speak up about issues that they are passionate about because they would feel like if they did it, there was a higher chance for violence or there was a higher chance for something to go wrong.
In spaces where you have not only community, but you have allies and accomplices, it creates a space that opens a new world. It helps us to truly begin to change the narrative around what it looks like to feel and be safe as trans people.
BLADE: The last time you all marched in Washington, we were in a different political climate. Trump was in office versus Biden. Anti-trans legislation was just beginning its tidal wave. Can you reflect on this juxtaposition and the stakes it means to be marching for trans visibility on this distinctly political stage?
GISELLE-GODSEY: It reminds us that we are never safe in the eyes of the social public that wants to make everyone believe that we are a threat to their existence, when, in fact, it is the opposite.
It forces us to be mindful about how we take breaks from work. We may feel like “Well, we got this passed, this TV show was created, so we can pause.” [Marching in D.C.] reminds us that until the most marginalized of us are free, none of us are truly free. That quote is overused but for all the right reasons.
Until all of us have the opportunity to be in TV shows, host spaces, graduate, and all of these things without it being a huge hoopla, without people having to make an article about it, then we might be able to take a little break.
Over these last five years, some of us have gotten a little comfortable with the idea of trusting that the system that is rigged against anyone different.
BLADE: Are there any ideas, events, people, or motivations you all are holding when you march?
GISELLE-GODSEY: Illuminate, educate, and advocate. Those are three pillars this year.
We are standing firm on amplifying those things, owning those things, making those things our bread and butter. When folks leave [the march], they leave with the ability to feel like they can do those things on their own.
There is space for you to illuminate your problems or your areas of opportunity, whether it be with your boss or whether it be with your city council member. You can educate them about why these things are important. You can become a stronger advocate.
We want to make sure that folks understand that these are not just pillars for the march, but these could be pillars for your life.
BLADE: What does your vision of the future for the transgender community look like?
GISELLE-GODSEY: I see us having a transgender president, though I’m not sure if I want to be that person.
I see a future where trans people can dream in the same way that other marginalized groups of people have been able to dream and see themselves actualized.
As a person from the intersection of both transness and Blackness, seeing Obama being sworn into office felt amazing.
As children you get told you can be whatever you want to be, but for so long, as Black folks, we also understood that there was a silent list of things that we probably shouldn’t strive to do.
What I see for the future is that in the same way that that glass ceiling is being broken for certain marginalized people, with the example of Obama being one of them, I would love to see that being broken for trans people.
I do see that being broken for trans people. I think that we are on the brink of having our first woman president — not to mention she’s a biracial, Black woman. In the next eight years, there might be another cultural shift, and we could have a trans president.
It feels amazing to remind people that those are actual possibilities now, and not just things to ponder over with friends at a kiki in a basement.
BLADE: Anything else?
GISELLE-GODSEY: There is an idea that we only need visibility because of the deaths that are happening. What I’m trying to showcase to folks is that the visibility March is not just because we are being murdered, it is also because we are not being heard. Our issues are not being heard.
We want trans men to be able to have access to proper health care. We want to be able to access safe-sex practices that are taught by and fostered for TGN people. There are so many things that are important to us.
When we have these conversations, we’re often whittled down to this idea of just being trans people who are upset – rightfully so – about the fact that some of our siblings are being killed. But that is not the only reason that we march. I want folks to understand and know that this isn’t just about a death toll.
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