History isn’t passive, it isn’t something we inherit, it is something we build. Trans history is alive in our homes, our neighborhoods, our streets. It lives in the work of those who fight for care, safety, joy, and possibility—often while navigating systems that deny all three.
Even here in California, where protections for trans people are stronger than in most states in the country, the ground is shifting. We are witnessing rollbacks in healthcare access, erasure of gender-affirming language in public institutions, and relentless political attacks designed to shrink the futures available to trans people. The promise of safety is never absolute.
That’s why their leadership is essential. Not symbolic. Not disposable. Central.
Check out our list of Trans-led organizations and grant partners:
- The TransLatin@ Coalition, preparing their Walk4Humanity this August in Los Angeles—a march and block party raising funds for housing, legal support, and mental health services.
- The Transgender District, where SPI alum Jupiter Peraza helped establish the very first Transgender History Month, a vision that spread from San Francisco to the entire state of California.
- Miss Major Alexander L. Lee TGIJP Black Trans Cultural Center, building community power and honoring Miss Major’s lifelong legacy of resistance.
- Transgender Health & Wellness Center, providing affirming healthcare and wellness programs across Southern California.
- Transgender Law Center’s Border Butterflies Project, supporting trans asylum seekers and migrants at the U.S.–Mexico border.
- Lyon-Martin Community Health Services, offering affirming healthcare for trans, lesbian, bisexual, and queer communities since 1979, still carrying forward the radical insistence that our bodies are worthy of care.
- El/La Para TransLatinas, works towards a world where TransLatinas are protected, celebrated, and loved, where trans/intersex/gender diverse Latinx people are welcome, safe, represented and valued in all spheres of life.
SPI alum Jupiter Peraza knows this truth deeply. She helped establish the very first Transgender History Month, and her words remind us of what we fight for: “I am trans. I am powerful. I am brilliant. And you will never destroy me.” Her clarity is a directive. Her brilliance is a roadmap.
Across the state, our trans-led and trans-serving partners are doing far more than surviving. They are shaping the political, cultural, and narrative future of California. From expanding access to gender-affirming care, to securing critical housing protections, to defending our community against criminalization and displacement, they are advancing justice in ways that reverberate far beyond the organizations they lead.
This year, our partners at The TransLatin@ Coalition transformed the streets of Los Angeles through Walk 4 Humanity—a gathering that was equal parts celebration, protest, and declaration. It tells a truth we must all commit to protecting: Trans lives matter. Trans communities matter. Trans futures cannot be denied.
As we close this year, we invite you to deepen your solidarity. Give boldly. Organize locally. Every action, donation, conversation helps fortify the networks that hold trans communities through these moments of crisis and celebration alike.
Trans history is alive. Allyship lives in every small, steady act: our duty to protect trans history—and to shape what comes next—cannot wait.