Today June 22, 2010 DART entered the 21st century, pressured by state advocacy groups and the Dallas city Council to do so. DART finally agreed in a surprising unanimous vote to adopt a amendment to it's nondiscrimination policy protecting its transgender employees.
DART board members first voted to remove the wording that would have left open the interpretation of there nondiscrimination policy and to a standing ovation passed without debate resolution 950155.
Committee member William Tsao then proposed Resolution 950155 "It is the intention of the DART board to adopt language at DART that unequivocally prohibits discrimination against persons based upon their gender identity and gender expression."
I sat next to the transgender woman the state LGBT organizations had united so passionately to protect. In my mind I had envisioned a woman early in transition, perhaps someone DART supervisors would not clearly recognize as female.
I can be such a idiot. Robin is a beautiful fully transitioned rose in full bloom. I was bewildered that anyone could actually deny her the opportunity to live as the woman she is. I had to ask her, if now that the protections were in place would she feel free to transition on the job. Robin simply said, "I have been, I couldn't have done otherwise."
Robin did go on to say that "untill the LGBT community started petitioning DART to change it's nondiscrimination policy I had to put up with harassment from my supervisors" she went on "but now things have been different."
Pam Curry, her friend who brought her plight to our notice was close to tears, her voice quivering as she explained to the board, "my friend, my sister has been crying each time she called me in the past years because of the harassment at work. Maybe now she will be able to live in peace".
I was left amazed by this tiny beautiful woman who stoically braved oppression silently and patiently waiting for her LGBT family to rescue her. I was also in awe of our LGBT family. They send goose bumps down my back transgender back, I am so proud of each and everyone.
And Robin is too! She says THANK YOU!
Kelli Busey
June 22, 2010
1 comment:
Thank you to all, the final language that clears up ambiguities wont pass out for a couple of months. What we got was language we were not in love with yet had decided we could live with, before the dreaded EXCEPT was inserted.
The purpose in this was to 1) get something passed 2) by resolution state it was the boards intent to fully protect w/o exception 3) get a stronger statement as quickly as possible.
Pamela Curry
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