The California State Assembly on Sept. 6 passed a resolution to declare August as Transgender History Month starting in 2024.
House Resolution 57, introduced by Assemblymember Matt Haney (D-San Francisco) on Aug. 29, marks the first such declaration by a U.S. state.
“Trans people have existed and have always existed in every era and in every culture. As long as there’s been the written word there has been a record of trans people,” Mr. Haney said. “Let’s tell the truth about transgender people’s lives, and let’s lift up the history of the transgender Californians who left their mark on our great state.”
Honey Mahogany, chair of San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee, said the proclamation will help to “stop spreading misinformation about the trans community.”
The resolution also stated that August was selected based on the historical significance of the 1966 Compton’s Cafeteria Riots, which took place in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district, when riots broke out after a transgender woman resisted arrest by throwing coffee at a police officer.
San Francisco became the first city in 2021 to recognize August as “Transgender History Month” after Mayor London Breed signed an official proclamation for such.
Shortly thereafter, Santa Clara County also adopted a similar recognition.
The resolution is not the first time California has declared support for the transgender community.
In 2018, former Gov. Jerry Brown ratified a bill designating June as LGBT Pride Month, an observance celebrated by a global community of hundreds of thousands. Numerous local governments in the state have subsequently followed suit.
Other current legislative initiatives to support transgender individuals in the state include Assembly Bill 957, which seeks to classify a parent who does not affirm or consent to a child’s assertions regarding gender identity as committing child abuse.
Last year, Gov. Gavin Newsom additionally signed a bill that made California a refuge state for transgender children and their families who may face legal repercussions in other states that criminalize youth gender-affirming care treatments.
