The present moment

December 11, 2024

It’s a season of change: a new year and a new presidential administration; changes in political power throughout the world; climate change; technological changes, and more. The ASHP staff knows that such changes don’t emerge overnight; as we look backward and ahead, we remain committed to making our work as history educators help generate greater understanding of the current historical moment. We have invited each member of our staff to share a document that reflects what has been on their mind as they observe our changing country: documents that present historical context, offer hope and inspiration, or provide evidence to shed light on the present moment. ASHP Executive Director, Annie Valk, volunteered to start off. Stay tuned for more documents in the coming weeks both on our website and on our primary source database, Social History for Every Classroom.

Like many Americans in the past decade, I’ve watched with growing horror as verbal, legal, and physical attacks on trans and gender non-conforming people have escalated. According to the Trans Legislation Tracker, an independent research organization, in 2015, a total of 21 anti-trans laws were proposed at the state level; by 2024, this number had leapt to 669, most restricting access to healthcare and education. At the federal level, there are currently 84 such laws under consideration and last month, after Sarah McBride became the first openly trans legislator (D-DE) elected to the U.S. Congress, her colleagues rushed to bar House members and staff from using bathrooms and other facilities that don’t correspond to their ‘biological sex.’ African American, Indigenous, Latinx, and other trans people of color especially face physical violence, discrimination in housing and employment, and high rates of incarceration. As the global Trans Murder Monitoring project shows, approximately 450 trans people in the U.S. – primarily trans women of color – have been murdered since 2008; this figure is surely an under count, yet the U.S. total trails only Brazil and Mexico. Given these trends, I have been thinking about the Trans Bill of Rights, considered by the House of Representatives. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) originally proposed the bill, then known as the Equality Act, in 2019; when re-introduced in 2023, Jayapal was joined by 124 co-sponsors, all Democrats. Jayapal has talked openly about the inspiration provided by her transgender child, for whom coming out represented a form of liberation. Speaking from the House floor, Jayapal shared “The only thought I wake up with everyday is: my child is free. My child is free to be who they are … And in that freedom comes a responsibility for us as legislators to protect that freedom, to be who they are.” Although it’s impossible to envision the passage of the Bill at this moment, Jayapal’s statement, and the Trans Bill of Rights, serve as important public statements of principles. Since trans rights intersect with a range of other issues, from reproductive justice to immigration, incarceration, and fair employment, the Bill’s relevance extends beyond trans and gender non-conforming people to touch many communities. Most importantly, by listing many ways that freedom remains out of reach, the Bill of Rights articulates the urgency to act at a time of rising transphobia in order to support, affirm, and protect the rights and safety of our trans and gender non-conforming family, loved ones, coworkers, neighbors, and fellow humans. [Click here to read the full text of the Resolution.]