Chicago groups took the lead in highlighting the profiling and misconception of transgender communities nationwide through a first-of-its-kind advertising campaign unveiled July 2 in West Garfield Park.
Representatives of the TransLife Center at the Chicago House and Camp Firebelly—a 10-day workshop for designers seeking to combine their ability with idealism—were on hand as the cover was gradually pulled away from a brightly colored billboard on which the silhouette of a pair of legs in stiletto shoes can be seen traversing the words "She's just walking, not working."
There are 10 such billboards around the South and West sides of the city. They form part of an educational campaign which includes social media and informational materials to be distributed across the Chicago community.
The billboard's reference is to numerous cases, not only in Chicago but across the country, of trans* individuals arrested or harassed by law enforcement and members of the public as being engaged in the sex trade. The project was the brain child of TransLife Center Director Bonn Wade and a team of the organization's youth and peer-leaders working in tandem with the creative minds of Camp Firebelly.
Dawn Hancock, the founder and managing director of Firebelly Design, told Windy City Times that she approached Wade with an open-ended offer. "I said 'I've got 10 people for 10 days, how can we help you?'" Hancock explained.
Wade was well aware of the abilities of the Camp Firebelly team—an initiative started seven years ago by the Chicago-based graphic design company that combines instruction for young people in the art along with assistance for non-profits that otherwise would not be able to afford to hire the creative team needed to form an effective ad campaign.
"I had seen the incredible work that they have done over the years for so many amazing organizations," Wade said. "We needed that kind of talent to get our message across. It was a great, collaborative partnership."
Wade organized a meeting between TransLife staff and the Camp Firebelly team to identify an issue that tears at the heart of the trans* community. Trans* people in New York have been arrested for carrying condoms, in Arizona for simply walking along a Phoenix street, in Chicago for taking a trip to the grocery store.
"Transgender people constantly live under the cloud of an assumption that us taking a simple walk down the street means that we're actually out doing solicitation or prostitution," TransLife Center Care Coordinator Channyn Parker said. "Which couldn't be further from the truth. I sincerely hope this message gets down at the base level that trans* people are human."
"During the concept stage, we talked a lot about this issue and what trans* people are facing and how best to approach that without offending either theirs or the larger community," said Camp Firebelly participant Kyle Newton. "The TransLife Center people were very helpful with language and imagery."
Chicago House Chief Development Officer Michael Herman introduced Wade and two TransLife Center youth leaders, Breezy and Sandy, to media and supporters who were gathered at 4601 W. Madison Street for the billboard's unveiling. "We're going to do some big stuff with trying to change the hearts and minds of the larger Chicagoland community in their perception and understanding of transgender people and transgender people's bodies and lives," Wade said.
"The reality of trans* life: there's a lot of violence especially among African American youth and adults," Breezy added. "There's a lot of discrimination especially from police officers and random people on the streets. We need to provide a safer community for trans* people."
July marks the one-year anniversary of the opening of the TransLife Center in Edgewater. Since it unlocked its doors, it has provided legal services, job training and employment, a bed, a hot meal and hope to trans* people from across the city who had previously been living on the streets or in danger of arrest or violence.
Rick Garcia, community outreach coordinator for the Cook County Jail, said he was grateful for the center as a place for trans* detainees to go after release from that facility. "We really want to make sure that when they come back onto the street, they have someplace to go and they have the resources they need to live full and productive lives," he added.
The center sits in the heart of state Rep. Kelly Cassidy's ward. "I'm thrilled to be so lucky to have the TransLife Center in my district," Cassidy said. "It's not a random facility in the middle of nowhere, it's a neighbor."
Cassidy noted that progress begins with visibility and "with humanizing the people that we're talking about as people," she said. "I want to see so many of these billboards all over the city."
Wade believes that the response to the billboards will vary. "I think 20% of the people are going to love it, 20% are going to hate it," Wade said. "Bottom line, it's going to get people talking about trans* people's lives in very human ways. It's not about national celebrities, but our neighbors. Trans* people are diverse. They are brilliant and they are resilient."
Video by Tracy Baim:
Windy City Times: Transgender billboard launch 7-2-2014 West Side at the link: www.youtube.com/watch .
