Dear community,
August arrives carrying a profound responsibility: to remember, to honor, and to fight for the stories that have been erased. This is Transgender History Month—not just a time of reflection, but a radical act of reclamation. History has been written by those in power, sanitized and stripped of its most beautiful complexities. The narratives we inherit often erase the very people who paved the paths we walk today. This August, let’s refuse to let our stories disappear into forgotten margins.
When we speak of transgender history, we’re talking about survival. We’re talking about Indigenous communities who honored Two-Spirit people long before colonization imposed rigid gender binaries. We’re talking about house mothers in ballroom culture who created families when blood relatives turned away. We’re talking about trans women of color like Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson who fought at the Stonewall uprising, as well as activists who, years before, fought in California – not just for acceptance, but for the right to exist.
In August 1966, three years before Stonewall, transgender women, drag queens, and queer community members fought back against police harassment, in what became known as San Francisco’s Compton’s Cafeteria Riot. In response to yet another raid targeting trans people and drag queens, someone threw a cup of hot coffee at an officer. What followed was a spontaneous uprising—tables overturned, windows shattered, and for the first time, the most marginalized members of our community rose up publicly against systemic violence and criminalization. These weren’t just activists—they were visionaries who saw beyond a world determined to categorize and control. They understood what we’re still learning: that gender is not a prison, but a playground. That authenticity is not a privilege, but a birthright. That our bodies, in all their magnificent diversity, are poems to be celebrated.
In San Diego, we carry this legacy forward through every rainbow crosswalk, every pride festival, every young person who finds community and home with us. Our trans elders didn’t just survive—they created art, families, and movements that shake oppression’s foundations. But let’s not romanticize this history. It is soaked in struggle, written in the blood of those lost to violence and systemic neglect. Every year, our siblings—disproportionately trans women of color—are murdered for existing in their truth. Every day, we witness legislative attacks designed to erase trans children from public spaces and criminalize support itself.
This is why August matters. This is why we gather, remember, and refuse to let their stories be buried beneath willful ignorance. When we celebrate Transgender History Month, we’re planting seeds for futures we may never see but absolutely believe in. We’re telling every trans child in San Diego County they are not alone—they are part of a lineage of warriors and truth-tellers. We’re reminding every parent, teacher, and neighbor that dignity isn’t abstract—it lives in classrooms, playgrounds, and dinner tables.
Our history includes the librarian who quietly changed pronouns, the drag performer who commanded stages, the non-binary artist who painted new possibilities. Each story matters. Each life deserves protection, celebration, and deep love.
August is Transgender History Month in California. Thanks to the work of Jupiter Peraza and The Transgender District, San Francisco’s Mayor London Breed, first proclaimed August, Transgender History Month in 2021. California followed suit two years later, making it the only state in the nation to recognize Transgender History Month. This month honors not only the history, resilience, and contributions of transgender pioneers and trailblazers. It affirms the ongoing presence and leadership of trans people in San Francisco, across California, and around the world.
As we move through August, let us recommit to being students of this history and architects of a better future. Let us support trans-owned businesses, amplify trans voices, vote for leaders who see our full humanity, and create spaces where gender diversity isn’t just tolerated—it’s treasured.
Learn more about LGBTQIA+ history and the Compton Cafeteria Riots with Lambda Archives and One Archive. Support and amplify the voices of trans and gender-nonconforming people today. Stand up against anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation by joining our Civic Action Team. Our ancestors dreamed us into being. Now it’s our turn to dream forward.
With fierce love and endless solidarity,
San Diego Pride
San Diego Pride raises funds primarily through festival ticket and beverage sales, and through sponsorships, and exhibitor fees. These funds support San Diego Pride’s community philanthropy which has distributed more than $2.5 million in advancement of its mission to foster pride, equality, and respect for all lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities locally, nationally, and globally.
