New Orleans trans community prepares March of Visibility, protest against transphobic attacks

New Orleans, LA – Real Name Campaign will be holding a march and rally in recognition of Transgender Day of Visibility. The rally will be held on Wednesday, March 31, at 5 p.m., and will start at Washington Square Park on Elysian Fields Avenue.

Transgender Day of Visibility celebrates the authentic lives of transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming people. Patriarchal gender norms only allow for there to be men and women identifying with the genders on their birth certificates. This makes trans people invisible: always there, but never acknowledged.

Trump’s attempts to purge trans people from health and housing protections added to this erasure. New Orleans’ inaccessible ID changes do too, not only by opening us to discrimination but also by denying our legal existence.

Real Name Campaign is made of activists in New Orleans fighting for accessible name and gender marker changes. We fight because equitable access to correct identification is essential in achieving the freedom to be ourselves with safety and dignity. We demand that the $250 name change fee in Orleans Parish be waived, and all other restrictions to correct ID accessibility abolished.

The protest will also resist the continuing attacks from transphobic politicians and systems around the country. There have already been more than 80 anti-transgender state laws introduced across the country in 2021. Real Name Campaign is rallying in solidarity to send a message that our identities and our movements will not be stopped.