March is the Transgender Month of Visibility and as it continues, groups across the U.S. will host events of all kinds to recognize and support transgender people leading up to the Day of Visibility on March 31. In Michigan, Founder of Visibility Day Rachel Crandall-Crocker is excited for local events across the state.
"We'll be having events all month long, and this year there's more than ever," she said, adding that on Monday, March 30 from 6 to 8:30 p.m. there will be a flagship event for the month.
"We will be having an open mic, and it's at Five Fifteen," she said. "We wanted to make it really open this year so people can get up and talk about whatever they want to, or they can play music."
Rachel Crandall-Crocker
At the event will also be speaker Kammie Mead who is the mother of a transgender man who died by suicide.
"Her son's name was Ken and his favorite day of the year was Visibility Day," Crandall-Crocker said.
And for those who are fans of art, Crandall-Crocker said that an art gallery event is one to look forward to on Saturday, March 28.
"We're having a special event. It's going to be at Studiowerq Art Gallery, and it's going to be called the Art of Visibility," she said. "It's going to be a social event with snacks, however, we're also having our workshops, like about journal-making and button-making and others."
In the center of Michigan's Lower Peninsula, Lansing transgender allies can see Crandall-Crocker herself deliver an address.
"There's also going to be a special event in Lansing [on Tuesday, March 31], and it's at the Sir Pizza in Old Town," she said. "I'm going to be a speaker and the guest of honor. And that's from 5 to 8 p.m."
Crandall-Crocker said that she's excited for the month because it grows in its scope every year.
"Before visibility day there really wasn't a day that we could call our own. There was Remembrance Day, however, that's when we remember our dead," she said. "So I really wanted a day that we could celebrate being alive. … When I created it I was hoping that there would be a few others that would like it, I had no idea that it would become an international transgender holiday."
She also made sure to emphasize that, "Transgender visibility isn't only about the day or even the month, it's about making contacts that you can use all year-round."
To find out more about the day visit transgendermichigan.org.
