September 2, 2015

Jacksonville, Florida is one of the largest cities in the country that does not have a law that protects LGBT people from discrimination. The Jacksonville Coalition for Equality, with the support of Federation member Equality Florida, is hoping to change that, and is working with local legislators to encourage them to pass a law this year. In preparation for more public advocacy, the coalition invited Equality Federation's Mark Snyder and Roey Thorpe to educate local transgender people on the latest messaging and storytelling strategies that will help build public support for updating the law to protect all of Jacksonville's residents. 

About twenty people, most of whom were transgender and gender-nonconforming, attended the workshop. They were impressively engaged, motivated, and knowledgeable. The workshop included updates on the latest recommended ways to talk about discrimination against transgender people, examples of transgender people talking about their identities in mainstream media, and practicing telling their own stories. We extend our big thanks to Karl Bach, Gina Duncan, Kaitlin Legg, Jess Osborn, and Cam who so warmly welcomed us to Jacksonville and helped prepare logistics for the training!