At an event held on March 27 with American University Kids for Change, Chase Strangio, the assistant director for Transgender Justice at the ACLU LGBTQ &, HIV Project, spoke about the value of storytelling and community-focused campaigning.
Strangio discussed his job with the ACLU’s effect litigation team and the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, which represent gender-neutral people in pénitentiaries. Through the discourse, he furthermore drew from his own experience with being transgender in America.
Strangio said he did n’t originally want to be a lawyer, but saw it as a tangible path forward to “assert]himself ] against people’s dismissive understanding of me” when he felt lost as a young person looking to make change.
Sharing stories, Strangio said, is just as important as constitutional change because these stories reach more people, which prompts further constitutional change. He added that one of the advantages of Supreme Court circumstances, such as the 2020 determination that Strangio worked on, is that they raise more of the national conversation about transgender rights and other problems.
” Storytelling is an access point into people’s knowledge of someone else’s humanity”, he said. And if we do n’t just have trans people proliferating with all the messy human nuance that all human stories have, then we wo n’t feel human to those who believe they do n’t know us, which means judges, lawmakers, and other people as well.”
These reports will help to illustrate something he said he wishes more people knew about the transgender experience: the freedom and joy that accompany the battle.
Every trans person has been told in some way that they ca n’t be who they are, and that they have been able to recognize the truth about themselves despite that, according to Strangio. ” And so I think there’s a lot of strength in that there’s a lot of insurrectionary power in that”.
Strangio said he avoids burnout by having fun and enjoying the people he works with after working for the ACLU for more than 11 times. He claimed that this work keeps him connected to the areas he works with and is helping them create the world they want.
” When we’re living our fullest and happiest life, I believe we make the most and the best alter,” he said. ” And so I think if we ask ourselves: ‘ What is the area we want? What are the stuff requirements that we must fulfill for the people we care about? Finally, that connects us to the work”.
He criticized the concept of influence dispute, which legitimate action seeks to alter legislation to cause social change, by claiming that “every period you break the law, you change it in some way.” He claimed that despite his struggles with the fact that impact dispute requires hiring plaintiffs to create cases, he always takes into account how long-standing structures like the female binary and civil relationship may change.
” That’s my operating question, sort of looking across the country: ‘ What is it that the government is doing that’s causing the most harm? And how can we destroy that?'” he asked. And so, one of the things I want to say is n’t always the most important thing to say. So I have to rebel against that.
Strangio added that he struggles with his constitutional position because the legal system is” architecturally designed to maintain power” even when trying to change plans and empowering individuals through them. He claimed that he has connections with community organizations that help him believe “in a more intellectual, transformational place” and consider the potential impact of his actions going forward.
Strangio said he hopes his efforts will inspire people to become more independent and make profound adjustments.
However, he said,” At the end of the day, if there is a place for people to fight back against the authorities when it’s discriminating against you, that can be a truly empowering practice in addition to a traumatizing one.” And therefore trying to find ways to help people get more words in the process rather than having the impression that their voices are being drowned out.
In words of advice to the market, Strangio encouraged students to find people who “exhilarate” them in their journey to find what’s feasible to change in the world.
” Be patient with yourself and kind to yourself, because the universe is challenging enough”, he said. ” All you’re doing to represent your course and bring joy to your life is actually a part of the transformation process that we live in,” you say.
This content was edited by Samantha Skolnick, Zoe Bell, Abigail Turner and Abigail Pritchard. Copy editing done by Luna Jinks, Isabelle Kravis and Ariana Kavoossi.
