The transgender flag was raised at Bethlehem City Hall in front of a crowd of more than 100 people in honor of Transgender Day of Visibility earlier this week.
Transgender Day of Visibility is celebrated worldwide on March 31. According to GLAAD, a non-profit organization focused on LGBTQ+ advocacy and cultural change, the day raises awareness of the disproportionate levels of poverty, discrimination and violence the transgender community experiences.
This was the fourth year Bethlehem raised the transgender flag to observe the annual event. Mayor J. William Reynolds was in attendance and said this year’s crowd was the biggest yet.
Ace Moody, a board member of the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce’s LGBTQ Business Council, spoke at the flag raising.
“Today we gather to honor Trans Day of Visibility, not just as a day to be seen, but as a day of affirmation for our existence with power, with joy and with an unshakable commitment to liberation at a time where lawmakers and institutions try to erase us, where policies try to restrict our autonomy,” they said.
Moody said visibility is not the only goal of the celebration, as the transgender community also demands safety.
Speaker Radiance Angelina Petro then recited lyrics from a song she wrote for Transgender Day of Visibility.
“We are not a threat to society,” she said. “The fabric of the family is safe. We are simply here being who we are, just like you. We’re in the human race, and we are here to stay.”
The crowd joined Petro in chanting, “We are here to stay.”
Some speakers discussed the current federal government and recent policies negatively affecting transgender individuals.
Corinne Goodwin, chair of the Eastern PA Trans Equity Group, said there was a shift in the event’s atmosphere this year due to recent government action. In past years, she said, it was about celebrating joy.
In her speech, Goodwin said it’s important for transgender and LGBTQ+ individuals to vote, because as taxpayers, they deserve a government that represents their interests at the national, state, county and municipal levels.
Liz Bradbury, chair of the Lehigh County Human Relations Commission and Keystone Equality, Pennsylvania’s LGBTQ+ statewide political action organization, said it’s important to call attention to local leadership in order to protect transgender rights.
“As the current federal government chips away at the rights of transgender people, let’s talk about what our local leaders can really do to impart legal protections for transgender people,” she said.
Bradbury also discussed the history of the Bethlehem Human Relations Commission. According to its website, the commission was created in 2011 to ensure all people are able to “enjoy the full benefits of citizenship” — having equal access to opportunities for employment, housing, public accommodations and post-secondary education.
Bradbury said the City of Bethlehem’s human relations ordinances, as well as those in Allentown and Easton, are out of date and need to be updated, as their definitions are “old fashioned.”
“They only protect employees and bigger businesses,” she said. “They don’t fully include health care and education. There are many protected classes that aren’t included, and, perhaps worst of all, they don’t help the human relations commissions in those cities to meet regularly and maintain active members.”
Bradbury then spoke about a specific human relations ordinance that passed in Lehigh County last year. It established non-discrimination requirements, created a Human Relations Commission, and outlined investigation procedures and enforcement policies for claims of discrimination. She said it’s the most progressive human rights legislation in Pennsylvania.
Bradbury said she helped write this ordinance with a council of community activists. It was sponsored by Lehigh County Commissioner Zach Cole-Borghi.
“Elected leaders committed to LGBTQ+ civil rights and inclusion can use the already-written, embedded language of the Lehigh County Human Relations ordinance to update Bethlehem, Allentown and Eastern laws, and pass laws in other towns and counties,” Bradbury said.
She said nothing is stopping elected officials from passing human rights laws except for themselves. She also called for Bethlehem officials to implement additional protections for the LGBTQ+ community.
Reynolds said the city is researching ways to address the community’s concerns on this issue and provide people with sufficient protection.
He also said the transgender flag raising ceremony is about opening the door to a wider conversation regarding what it means to be an American, as well as what it means to have rights that some people are born with and others have to fight for.
“It’s not just about us,” he said. “It’s about everybody that’s not here yet, that will be here in two years or five years or 10 years or 20 years. We are building a city for today and for tomorrow.”
Amber Brose, ‘25, a graduate assistant at Lehigh’s Pride Center, attended the event and said the mayor’s attendance at the event was powerful. She also said collaboration between the queer community and political representatives is important.
“It didn’t feel like yelling into the void, because (Reynolds) was there, responding to our needs in real time,” she said.
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