"Against all odds, we are still here"
Seventy percent of transgender adults in the United States say they fear for their safety, according to a new poll from the Pew Research Center.
"To me, that is not an affirming democracy that celebrates the great diversity of America," said Precious Brady-Davis.
Brady-Davis is commissioner of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago and the first Black openly trans woman appointed and elected to public office in Cook County history.
She said this year, pride holds new meaning, amid continued attacks from the Trump administration on the LGBTQ+ community and trans folks in particular.
Since President Trump took office in January, he's issued a slew of executive orders targeting trans individuals.
Brady-Davis said she is particularly concerned about Executive Order 14168 and Executive Order 14184. They order the State Department to stop issuing accurate passports for trans people and ban trans folks from being able to serve in the military.
"The Trump administration literally is reversing gender markers for people who are renewing their passports," she said. "That makes it so unsafe for people who are literally just trying to travel as their authentic selves ... It makes me so ashamed that trans people cannot show up and serve and wear the uniform and defend the country they love."
That's why Brady-Davis said her representation as a trans leader is even more powerful.
"When trans folks see themselves reflected in the arc of history, they say 'I can be that too,'" she said. "That is what gives me hope in this moment, that I have the opportunity to inspire a new generation of people."
Brady-Davis is also the Chief Strategy Officer at Center on Halsted in Lakeview, which provides an array of programs and services designed to advance Chicago's LGBTQ+ community.
This includes HIV/STI testing, therapy and case management, among other services.
Brady-Davis said during these bleak times for the LGBTQ+ community, organizations like Center on Halsted are even more important.
"I want to continue to expand those services," she said. "I think that is what is most sad about this moment, the people who don't have the inner resilience that I have."
For those struggling to find comfort or hope, Brady-Davis encourages people not to isolate themselves and instead reach out to others, whether that be other members of the LGBTQ+ community or community resources.
"It's important that you have community around you, people who look like you, people who understand what this moment is creating for folks' mental health," she said.
She said she also looks to LGBTQ+ trailblazers who came before her, such as Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, for inspiration.
"I believe that the LGBTQ community will win because this is the great history of our community," she said. "That's what this Pride Month, for me, represents, that against all odds, we are still here."
"We have to stand firm"
Channyn Lynne Parker said to her, Pride Month this year is "the renewal of a promise that we’ll continue to make room for each other."
Parker is the CEO of Brave Space Alliance, a community center on the South Side that was established to protect “four pillars of dignity” for the LGBTQ+ population: health, housing, food and identity.
"Our community is experiencing a great deal of anxiety," she said. "We've enjoyed some liberties that were relatively unprecedented for this country, and those liberties should not have ever been considered to be privileges."
She said since the Trump Administration's proposed funding cuts and program eliminations, a slew of individuals have been coming to Brave Space Alliance "in a frenzy."
"Their housing programs have lost funding," she said. "Both care providers and patients are afraid they won't be able to provide or access gender affirming care, but that also means the fear of not being able to access reproductive supports, like birth control."
She said right now, Brave Space Alliance is focusing on reinforcing the work they've already done and reaching out to some of Chicago's most vulnerable communities, including the migrant community.
"We're doubling down on advocacy," she said. "This year is about protecting all the hard work that we've done and the things that people really rely on."
She said despite the challenges the LGBTQ+ community is facing now, she is up for the fight and sees her work as a responsibility.
She also echoed Brady-Davis' suggestions to seek out community.
"Find your people, take time for you, be honest with yourself and live to fight another day ... even when the world tries to push us out, we have to stand firm."