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TransGender Michigan's Crandall awarded by Michigan Bar Association

by Jessica Carreras

On Sept. 17, TransGender Michigan Executive Director and co-founder Rachel Crandall was presented with the Michigan Bar Association's Liberty Bell Award at a ceremony at the Hyatt Regency of Dearborn.
Nominated by the Stonewall Bar Association, Crandall was presented with the award for her dedicated work over the past ten years advocating for the understanding of and equal rights for the transgender community. The organization was started after Crandall lost her job, marriage, home and friends after coming out as transgender.
"I am very flattered to be receiving this award and i still can't quite believe it," she said at the ceremony. "When i came out as a transsexual woman, I lost almost everything in my life. I lost my marriage, I lost my job, I lost my house – I lost almost everything. Unfortunately, that is happening over and over to many people in my community and in the overall LGBT community."
Crandall also spoke about her transition and why she decided to start TransGender Michigan. "We created TransGender Michigan, I think, mainly so we wouldn't all have to be so lonely anymore. So we didn't have to just be so isolated and just lose everything and begin to lose ourselves.
"Luckily, when I came out, I didn't lose myself. I really found something," she continued. "I really found that I was a leader, which I never thought I was… . I also really found out that I was brave. Before I came out, I never thought I was brave. I always felt like I was hiding something. And you know, I don't feel that way anymore."
TransGender Michigan has worked to provide housing, support and assistance to transgender people in the state, as well as worked with the ACLU of Michigan on legal matters concerning the LGBT community.

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