Defiant Archives: Trans Histories of Existence, Resistance, and Brilliance
Defiant Archives: Trans Histories of Existence, Resistance, and Brilliance exhibit will share a collection of archival and personal items with a focus on the history of transgender activism in Philadelphia, curated and collected by local trans community members. Visitors will be able to watch a collection of oral history videos shared by the Trans Oral History Project, as well as the short documentary video "Transpass" about the work of Riders Against Gender Exclusion, a local activist group who won the fight to end SEPTA's use of gendered stickers in 2013. The exhibit will also invite participation, as visitors are welcomed to share their own histories on a timeline stretching from 1965 to 2015. Defiant Archives: On display at William Way LGBT Center (1315 Spruce Street) July through September. The exhibit opening event will take place Friday, July 24 form 6:00pm-8:00pm.
The Defiant Archives exhibit responds to a missing piece in the Reminder 2015 celebration. Before, during, and after the Annual Reminder Day protests (1965-69) demanded gender conformity from participants, transgender and gender nonconforming activists have mobilized for sexual and gender self-determination, social transformation, and collective liberation.
The exhibit is dedicated to the memory of Charlene Arcila.
