‘Queer and trans people are the blueprint for how to survive this because we’ve done this before’

It was a little before Election Day, and one East Bay parent of a transgender child was worried. 

“I want my kid to be safe, and I want him to be happy,” C.J. Dart said in an interview. The stakes of the presidential election were personal. “Not only am I worried about the future of the country — I feel like people are going after my own child in this situation,” he said.

The Trump presidency that Dart feared is now a reality, and local transgender support and advocacy groups, here in a historic enclave of LGBTQ+ community and activism, are adjusting to a threatening new landscape. 

In the lead-up to Election Day, Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, made several verbal attacks against the transgender community, part of an overall platform for maintaining a patriarchal nation. His campaign rallies featured hateful videos aimed against transgender individuals, and at his Madison Square Garden rally on Oct. 27, he said he intended to get “transgender insanity the hell out of schools.” In all, Republicans spent nearly $215 million on transphobic network TV ads. 

And that’s to say nothing of the anti-LQBTQ+ policies that Trump implemented during his first term. The list includes appointing anti-LGBTQ+ judges, the banning of transgender service members from the military, and the Department of Education’s refusal to respond to civil complaints filed by transgender students. 

The policies enacted then will serve as a blueprint for his second term. His 2024 platform includes passing a federal ban on gender-affirming care for minors and defining male and female as the only recognized genders. He has threatened to cut school funding to states, such as California, that protect transgender students and promote diversity, equity and inclusion programs in their schools.

On Oct. 7, 2020, a Fenway Health study reckoned that the Trump Administration had enacted “more anti-LGBTQIA+ policies than any previous administration with devastating consequences.”

This history and the recent ramp-up in transphobic rhetoric sparked anxiety, frustration, and fear for many of those in and around the LGBTQ+ community — and especially for parents of transgender children like C.J. Dart. Local organizations and members of this community are raising the alarm now not only about what a second Trump term would look like but also about how California, in general, and the Bay Area, in particular, are not immune from surging transphobia and homophobia. 

Shelby Chestnut, the executive director for the Transgender Law Center, wrote in an email that, regardless of who’s leading the country: “We will continue fighting for our rights, freedoms, and the future we all deserve. Our community draws strength from the powerful legacy of resistance of our Black and Indigenous ancestors. Whether defending our freedom to be our authentic selves, accessing safe and affirming healthcare and abortions, or addressing climate justice, we will not stop until our laws, policies, and society reflect the care, dignity, and respect we all need — no exceptions.” 

“What I think Oakland can continue to do, and it’s more than symbolic, is continue to uplift the values that we’ve already asserted,” she said. “I want to make sure that LGBTQ — and specifically trans — residents can thrive and do what we can. We can’t change national politics, but we can be a part of the culture shift that needs to happen at the local level.”

Mama Celeste, the co-founder of the queer arts nonprofit Oaklash as well as Rollin’ with the Homos, a monthly skating get-together at Brooklyn Basin, is still reeling from the results of the presidential election. 

“We have to grieve, we have to heal, we have to get through this first. We can’t do the denial part anymore. The anger didn’t work, either, so we’ve got to grieve,” Celeste said. “There has to be a point of acceptance where we listen to our neighbors. What are these people seeing in someone like Donald Trump and what is activating them so strongly, and why can’t the Democrats listen to us?”

On a local level, Celeste is worried about how the city and statewide races will affect these vulnerable communities. 

“All I can ask of the city officials is that they don’t just give us a seat at the table but actually listen to what we’re asking them. That’s our only way forward right now,” Celeste said. “You are a public servant to the people, we do not serve you. People in politics need to remember that, they are here because of us, and we have the power, actually.”

Despite what horrors could be unleashed under a new Trump term, Celeste still holds out hope for the resilience of the LGBTQ+ community. 

“Queer and trans people are the blueprint for how to survive this because we’ve done this before. In 1969 [under the Nixon Administration] queer people turned this country around. They said no to police brutality with the Stonewall riots. They formed radical organizations, like the Gay Liberation Front. All of these came out in a moment of total national chaos,” Celeste said. “It was queer people who were on the ground, and all other people of color. We’re out here making sure that our communities would survive, and that’s the energy that we need to bring. This cultural revolution is going to happen on a hyperlocal basis because we won’t take it anymore.”

CalMatters contributed reporting to this story.