By Rebecca Kaplan, Oakland City Councilmember At-Large–
September is the month that Pride comes to Oakland. It is the month when Oakland gets to focus and celebrate the LGBTQ+ community in solidarity and joy.
The festivities start with Oakland Pride, which takes place on September 9–10. This year, Oakland Pride and Pridefest Oakland have joined forces to create a partnership of strength and respect while elevating our unified mission to celebrate and support the cultures and diversity of the LGBTQ+ community in Oakland and the surrounding Bay Area. Oakland Pride will feature vendors, performers, and a parade on Sunday, September 10, which begins at 11 am in downtown Oakland.
In the spirit of the festivities at Oakland Pride, I, the first openly lesbian elected to the Oakland City Council, along with Councilmember Janani Ramachandran, who herself is openly queer, are co-authoring a resolution declaring September 2023 as Oakland Pride Month in the City of Oakland. Each council office has been asked to choose an LGBTQ+ individual or organization to be honored at the September 19th Council Meeting. My office, the At Large Council District representing the entire city of Oakland, has chosen the Transgender Law Center.
The Transgender Law Center (TLC) changes law, policy, and attitudes so that all people can live safely, authentically, and free from discrimination regardless of their gender identity or expression. The TLC, which was originally founded in Oakland, is the largest national trans-led organization advocating for a world in which all people are free to define themselves and their futures. Grounded in legal expertise and committed to racial justice, the TLC employs a variety of community-driven strategies to keep transgender and gender nonconforming people alive, thriving, and fighting for liberation.
Founded in 2002, the TLC’s advocacy and precedent-setting litigation victories—in areas including employment, prison conditions, education, immigration, and healthcare—protect and advance the rights of transgender and gender nonconforming people across the county.
Join us in September in celebrating Oakland Pride, the TLC, and the LGBTQ+ community throughout Oakland and the Bay Area.
Councilmember At-Large and Council President Rebecca Kaplan, who is the Vice Mayor of Oakland, was elected in 2008 to serve as Oakland’s citywide Councilmember; she was re-elected in 2016 and 2020. She also serves on the Alameda County Transportation Commission (ACTC). Follow Councilmember Kaplan on Twitter @Kaplan4Oakland (https://tinyurl.com/2dtjmazc ) and Facebook (https://tinyurl.com/2p9dd5ta).
Out of the Closet and into City Hall
Published on September 7, 2023
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