SF activist's efforts led to recognition of Transgender History Month
State lawmakers voted to make California the first state to officially observe transgender history month last year, partly thanks to the efforts of a Bay Area activist who lobbied for the move.
For her entire life, Jupiter Peraza has always been history, but not necessarily the kind you find in textbooks.
"Much of trans history is oral history. It's passed down among our community," she said.
Three years ago, Peraza, a trans activist, lobbied the City of San Francisco to officially recognize August as transgender history month.
It all started at the GLBT Historical Society Archives, when a few years ago, local filmmaker Susan Stryker stumbled on a reference to a seemingly forgotten event. In August 1966, a group of San Francisco trans women and drag queens stood up to police harassment at Compton's Cafeteria in the Tenderloin, a full three years before the famous Stonewall Uprising in New York City.
"Police records were erased. We didn't even know what day it happened or how many people were arrested," she said
The discovery of that unprecedented moment was a reminder of how little is known about trans history in general, and lead Peraza and her fellow activists on a years-long crusade for recognition.
"San Francisco would not be the city that it is today without the incredible advocacy of trans people," she said.
On Monday, California became the first state in the nation to honor Transgender History Month, all thanks to her local initiative.
It was a huge win for a community increasingly under attack, one Peraza got to celebrate at City Hall along with Mayor London Breed.
While these declarations are mostly symbolic, they do pack at least one major punch.
Orion Rummler, a D.C.-based trans reporter, said designated months tend to grab the attention of journalists.
"Having a month just about trans history, I think, would invite more people to think deeply about how trans people were always a part of this country," he said.
For Peraza, it was a future her younger self could never even imagine.
"Never ever in a million years would have thought that I could have played a role in creating something as iconic and monumental as Transgender History Month," she said.
Peraza says her hope is to eventually get Trans History Month recognized in all 50 states.
