National Trans Visibility March is coming to Sacramento. Here’s how to get involved
The National Trans Visibility March, which is traditionally held in Washington D.C., has chosen the Sacramento LGBT Community Center as the lead collaborator in California for the 2021 march. The event Saturday will be the only one on the West Coast.
Simultaneously, marches will be happening across the country in Orlando, New York, Atlanta and Chicago and will center around the theme of “no lives left behind.” Last year, NTVM’s efforts went to increasing the awareness of transgender and non-binary community members’ voting rights.
But in its third year of advancing the rights of trans and non-binary individuals, the organization will focus on regional safety plans to address violence against the transgender community.
At least 37 transgender and gender non-conforming people were victims of fatal violence in 2020, more than the Human Rights Campaign has recorded in any other year. More than 200 cases of deadly violence has been reported across 30 states and 113 nationwide since 2013, according to the Human Rights Campaign.
The purpose of the National Trans Visibility March is to dismantle stigmas and support the visibility of transgender and gender non-conforming people in their wider communities. The NTVM held its first event in Washington D.C. in 2019, when more than 5,000 people rallied from all over the country. Last year, more than 25,000 tuned in virtually from all over the world.
“We’re hoping that this march is a beacon of hope for transgender and gender non-conforming people in rural areas that don’t have the same access to the community as people who live in big cities like San Francisco or Los Angeles,” said Alexis Sanchez, the director of advocacy and training at the Sacramento LGBT Community Center, in a press release. “This is an opportunity for them to find their community and have their identities celebrated and uplifted.”
The Sacramento LGBT Community Center has joined efforts with Trans and Queer Youth Collective in Fair Oaks, the Gender Health Center in Sacramento, the Transgender District in San Francisco and other Northern California organizations that serve the community.
Here’s what anyone headed to the Sacramento march should know about this year’s in-person events, how to become a volunteer, COVID-19 resources and where to book a hotel:
National Trans Visibility March
Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021
Crocker Park
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
A pep rally will kick off at 10 a.m. with opening remarks and land acknowledgment. The march will begin at 11 a.m. at Crocker Park and participants will walk its perimeter. The march will conclude at 11:30 a.m. back at the beginning of the park where people will listen to keynote speakers, award recipients and entertainment.
Become a volunteer
Volunteer inquiries can be sent to Lauren Pulido (he/him/they/them) at lauren. pulido@saccenter.org. Become an NTVM volunteer and choose between marketing, fundraising, event setup, event navigator and community ambassador.
COVID resources
Masks will be suggested with free masks available on site. NTVM will also be offering COVID-19 vaccinations, COVID-19 testing and HIV testing.
Where to book a hotel
NTVM recommends booking a hotel in the downtown or midtown area to make traveling to and from the event relatively simple. Hotels within that area are less than a mile walk to the Sacramento LGBT Community Center.
Donate to the Sacramento LGBTQ Community Center
For more than 40 years, Sacramento’s LGBTQ Community Center has supported the health of the LGBT community. The center encourages donations to its emergency fund to help build COVID-19 resources, relief and support.
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