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Advocacy organization soldiers on for trans people post election
The Ruth Ellis Center in Highland Park is a group that advocates for trans rights, and they have been on the phone talking to those who look for help since the results of the 2024 Election.
DETROIT (FOX 2) - An advocacy organization for transgender people is soldiering on after they say the presidential election results didn't go their way.
It is ‘Trans Week of Visibility’, and it is celebrated in Detroit and throughout the country. Meanwhile, the Ruth Ellis Center in Highland Park is a group that advocates for trans rights, and since Election Day, they have been on the phone talking to those who look for help.
"I want to remind people that we made it through 2016, through his first administration," said case manager Jey'nce Poindexter. "We will make it through this. When the results came in, and it hit, it was just like 2016. It was a level of disappointment. It was a level of confusion because we have plans. We have project 2025."
The Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 calls for rolling back LGBTQ+ rights and protections, something President-elect Donald Trump has talked about.
"We know the playbook. We know that day one is deportation and thereafter is this group, that group, this group, that group, this group," she said.
Poindexter says it hurts, but she said ‘Trans Week of Visibility’ shows that their work will continue forward.
"We want the chance and the opportunity to arrive and facilitate and navigate life just like everyone else," she said.
They hope to continue to fight against discrimination in housing, education, medical services, and other areas. She encourages others, if they're feeling the same, to join in on the fight through community involvement and engagement.
"Politics never saved anyone," she said. "People save people. And so that’s where I stand. That’s where I lie. I want people to be encouraged. I want people to stay involved. I want people to seek a higher power."
Trans Week of Visibility goes through until Tuesday, Nov. 19.
Here is a list of resources for those looking for help:
- Ruth Ellis Center
- Trans Sistas of Color Project
- Affirmation in Ferndale
- ACLU (Jay Kaplan)
- Michigan Civil Rights Commission