The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
The Township Council recognized March 31 as the Transgender Day of Visibility at the March 25 meeting with a proclamation.
The proclamation said the day is “a day to honor the lived experiences of transgender individuals, acknowledge the challenges they continue to face, and uplift their voices in a world that too often marginalizes them.”
“Transgender Day of Visibility is not only a celebration but also a call to action – reminding us that there is still work to be done in the fight for equality, safety, and full societal acceptance for transgender and non-binary people,” the proclamation reads.
Township Councilmember Ed Potosnak – Franklin’s first openly gay Councilmember, said, “It’s really important that Franklin is a welcoming community, one that doesn’t single out any individual or throw hate or shame at them, or try to do anything to demean them or take away any rights. And so today is a positive day as we stand together in the face of many different sorts of, I would say, attacks on the community itself.”
Having visibility days such as this is important, Potosnak said, because, “when you’re a member of a community that’s a minority community, meaning it’s not the majority, it’s not what most people are used to, it’s not what society is designed for, it can be really hard to be in a place where you’re not like everybody else, where all the systems are set up for you.”
“And as a member of any community, we can identify that, whether it’s gender, for the LGBT community, and particularly for transgender individuals, there are more and more roadblocks,” he said. “And unfortunately, right now, we’re experiencing those at the federal level at an unprecedented level of targeting and rollbacks of advancements and civil rights that were established that now are no longer available. And so Harvey Milk said, it’s really important for people to come out and be who they are and openly gay, because then people could see other folks in their community and say, oh, I like you, and they get more comfortable. And so Transgender Day of Visibility is about that, about being seen.”
“We see the transgender members of our community, we accept them, we love them for who they are, and all their accomplishments,” he said.
Any marginalized group, Mayor Phil Kramer said, wants “want the same things the rest of us want. They want to be loved, they want to love, and they want to be left to live their lives and be themselves. That’s all this group is asking for, and here in Franklin, they have that. They’re a part of our community as much as anyone else, and I’m glad they’re here. They are us, we are them.”
Franklin Township, Councilman Alex Kharazi said, takes pride in “living in the second-most diverse community. We not only reaffirmed that hate does not have any home in Franklin, but we have pledged to stand up for the other and reject any form of hate and bigotry. We strive to have a united community where everyone, and we mean everyone, to feel loved, respected, and valued.”
Township resident Ashley Isaiah Harris, a member of the transgender community, said visibility is important for all.
“It brings awareness,” he said. “And what awareness allows us to do is to break down stereotypes that they have on our community.”
Harris, a 2004 graduate of Franklin High School, said he was bullied in school.
“Finally I said, well, I’m not gonna allow fear to be my compass,” Harris said. “I needed to find my path and be confident in it because it’s my responsibility. I found my voice.”
“I just want everybody in this room to know we do not all have to be best friends,” he said. “But what we can do is come together for the betterment of our children, our adults, our marginalized communities, our Black community, our disabled community, our seniors. We can be kinder to each other, and we can not get distracted by little things like which bathroom I wanna use.”
“I just want Franklin Township to know how proud I am to be a part of this community that’s so loving, welcome, and diverse,” he said. “We have a lot of work to do, but to lead is to know where you came from, and I’m so happy that I come from Franklin.”
Gail Nelson, the advisory to the FHS Gay-Straight Alliance PACE Club, said that how people speak to kids “struggling with orientation” is important.
“The words we speak to them either speak life or they speak death,” she said.
“We have to learn to speak life to our kids because we’re living in troubled times,” she said. “I can’t stand looking at Facebook or the news because I’m so tired of people hurting children because. You don’t want your child, take them to the hospital, take them to the church, take them somewhere where they’re gonna be loved.”
“Every time you think, oh, here come the trans people, they’re pushing the gay agenda, they’re not pushing anything, they’re pushing life,” she said. “And when we learn to respect what life really is about, then you have to step back and reflect and look at your own biases.”
“So I’m happy that I’m a safe space for them.” she said. “I’m happy they feel comfortable coming to me. And I’m not keeping secrets from any parent, but I’m not going to put a child in harm’s way if their parent is not ready to accept who they are.”
Lauren Albrecht, the director of advocacy for Garden State Equality, said Franklin was among the first towns in the state to recognize Transgender Awareness Day.
“It speaks to your leadership, that when it comes from the top, when love, understanding, acceptance, inclusion, diversity, and true, true equity come from the top, it shows the values of the community,” she said.
“I just want to thank you all for doing this, and for reaffirming your commitment at a time when it’s most needed, and at a time when other municipalities are not necessarily doing this,” she said.
Also attending the meeting was a group of residents, led by Michael Steinbruck of East Millstone, who had earlier held a silent vigil against hate in the cultural arts gazebo in the municipal complex.
Earlier, the Franklin Reporter & Advocate with Kramer, Potosnak, Harris, Nelson and state Assemblyman Joe Danielsen about the “Hat has no home here” sign campaign going on:
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