December 12, 2014
The Spectrum Center was thrilled to have helped organize and support a full 6-day week of events for Trans* Awareness Week from November 16-21. The week began with Brooklyn-based slam poet Kit Yan, a transgender Asian American artist from Hawaii, who hosted a poetry writing workshop and performance of his poetry to kick off the week on November 16 and 17, respectively. The week continued with partnered programming with Riot Youth at the Neutral Zone and the Trotter Multicultural Center; this included a Riot Youth Youth Speak Out on Tuesday, our second “Intentional Intersections” community conversation event on Wednesday, and was concluded with a special holiday feast at the Trotter Multicultural Center for “Feel Good Fridays”.
In conjunction with the international Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR), we hosted a Trans* Day of Remembrance Ceremony and Art Exhibit with the student group Trans* Form on Thursday, November 20th. This year’s TDOR program included a welcome speech from our Interim Director, Will Sherry, then continued with brief words from members of TransForm and community partner Neutral Zone, and concluded with a speech from featured speaker Bré Campbell, a community specialist and activist from Detroit. The night finished with a musical performance by the Spectrum Center’s own Anthany Beasley and an opportunity to visit the art exhibit curated by members from Trans*Forms that had been on exhibit in the Michigan Union throughout the week.
We on the Community Development Team and the Trans* Awareness Week planning team would like to give thanks to the student groups, offices, and co-sponsors that helped make Trans* Awareness Week 2014 possible: Spectrum Center, Trotter Multicultural Center, TransForm, Neutral Zone, Abeng Multicultural Center, and the Coalition for Queer Students of Color.