The sun came out Tuesday, along with more than 30 people, to watch as Santa Clara County became the first county government in the U.S. to raise the transgender flag.
Activist Lance Moore was also honored for his work on behalf of the South Bay's transgender community.
The flag �" blue, pink, and white stripes �" will fly along with the rainbow flag in front of Santa Clara County government offices for the month of April in honor of Transgender Day of Visibility, which is March 31.
It also kicked off a month of events for the South Bay transgender community themed "More than Visible" (#morethanvisible).
"It just shows what a beacon we are here for everybody in California," said gay Santa Clara County Supervisor Ken Yeager.
Maribel Martinez, a 35-year old queer woman who is the executive director of the Santa Clara Office of LGBTQ Affairs, agreed.
"It is our visual commitment to inclusion and empowerment of transgender communities," Martinez told the Bay Area Reporter .
"We really want to raise the visibility of our LGBTQ communities and the transgender communities being a significant group, not only historically, not only for the LGBTQ movement, but also in its contributions here locally," she continued.
Opening the flag raising ceremony, Martinez told the audience, "The transgender community is alive and thriving and it is imperative for us to see and engage and empower our transgender communities, with the flag raising we hope to honor the resilience of our trans communities and celebrate their contributions."
Speaking to the audience, Yeager expressed excitement about recent developments in the transgender community, but he also noted the backlash against the community happening across the country.
"It's so exciting what is happening in the trans community," said Yeager. "Never before have people been able to discuss, be open [and] live the kind of lives that they want.
"For those of us who have been in the gay rights movement for almost all of our adult career we are used to [the backlash], we are used to the battle," he said. "We know that over time and education we can change minds, but it only happens if we are open about who we are."
Yeager noted that the rainbow flag has flown alongside the county, state, and national flags in front of the Santa Clara County government building every weekday since the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in June 2015.
Moore, 55, has been an activist in the South Bay trans community for more than a decade.
"There has been a tremendous amount of progress for LGBTQ people, but we are also facing a really big backlash," Moore told the audience. "There are over 40 bills nationwide that are anti-trans and 26 of those are aimed at kids. So, visibility really counts. Pride really counts."
Moore, who identifies as a man, but said he has a "transgender experience," was being honored for his work in Santa Clara County's transgender community. He founded the transgender men's support group at the Billy De Frank LGBT Community Center six years ago.
He told the audience that he hoped that the flag would "serve as an inspiration" to people �" from county employees to visitors �" coming to Silicon Valley's government offices.
Maybe they will "be inspired to take a moment and learn a little bit about trans lives and experiences," he said.
"One thing that I have learned, when people are educated they are less afraid and when they are less afraid less scary things happen to us who don't fit into those typical boxes. We certainly would like more of that," Moore added.
Helen Chapman, a 56-year old ally who is running for the District 6 seat on the San Jose City Council this year, applauded the county's celebration of diversity.
"It's a wonderful celebration of diversity and sharing acceptance throughout the district and throughout the county," said Chapman.
"It's nice that we are a leader in that, because with so much hate and division going on in the rest of the country, let's lead the way to start reducing that and come together to start to solve problems and be part of solutions instead of attacking one another," she added.
Pride and approval
Members of the South Bay's transgender community expressed pride in their county's proactive and progressive stance for their community.
"It's a pretty powerful statement that San Jose gets this honor to be the first in the country that acknowledges and dignifies our community with the raising of our flag," said Aejaie Franciscus, 51, a transgender businesswoman who owns Sweet Forbidden and Carla's Social Club and is a former director of the DeFrank center. "To establish that our identity exists. We are here. We haven't gone anywhere. We are part of this community and deserve to be recognized."
"It's great that we are being recognized as people and not being marginalized," said Bobbi Pierce, a 44-year-old transgender woman. "I just wish more people would be able to feel free to be themselves regardless of how everybody looks at them."
In April, the South Bay will host a series of events for transgender visibility.
April 2, the county is hosting a Transgender Day of Visibility Celebration, 1:30 to 10 p.m. at the Billy De Frank LGBTQ Community Center, 938 The Alameda in San Jose. For more information, call (408) 293-3040 or visit, http://www.southbaytdov.dancingbull.net.
April 18, the county is launching its inaugural National HIV Testing Day to encourage transgender individuals to get tested for HIV/AIDS.
Testing will be open to people at the following sites:
The Crane Center, 976 Lenzen Avenue, Suite 1800 in San Jose, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more information, visit http://www.gettestedscc.org.
Asian Americans for Community Involvement's Hope Program at the Billy De Frank LGBTQ Center, 938 The Alameda in San Jose. For more information, call (408) 293-3040 or visit, http://hiv.aaci.org/get-tested.