inclusion tennessee Announces Special Events for Trans Week of Action and Visibility

National activists and advocates to visit Nashville for important educational & community events

NASHVILLE — inclusion tennessee, a leading advocate for diversity and inclusivity in the LGBTQIA+ community, is excited to announce a series of special events to celebrate the transgender, gender expansive, and non-binary residents of Middle Tennessee. These events are planned for the week leading up to International Transgender Day of Visibility on March 31, 2024.

Executive Director, phil cobucci, said, “Given the current climate where legislative attacks on transgender and gender expansive individuals are being launched by our state’s lawmakers and others nationwide, and anti-trans rhetoric is widespread, it is crucial to demonstrate that transgender people are loved, accepted, and have a place in Middle Tennessee.” inclusion tennessee, in collaboration with various local partners, is hosting multiple events throughout March, all aimed at supporting and celebrating the transgender and gender expansive community.

The organization is excited to welcome Award Winning Author, Activist, and Media Strategist Raquel Willis. on Wednesday, March 20 at 7 pm at the Center for Contemplative Justice. Raquel Willis is an award-winning author, activist, and media strategist dedicated to Black transgender liberation. She has held groundbreaking posts, including director of communications for Ms. Foundation for Women, executive editor of “Out” Magazine, and national organizer for Transgender Law Center. She co-founded Transgender Week of Visibility and Action and currently serves as an executive producer for iHeartMedia’s Outspoken, the president of the Solutions Not Punishments Collaborative’s executive board, and is a WNBA Social Justice Council member. Her debut memoir, “The Risk It Takes to Bloom: On Life and Liberation,” was released in November 2023 via St.Martin’s Press. Raquel will be joined in conversation by Maxine Spencer from TransAid Nashville. Event admission is a $10 suggested donation, copies of Raquel’s book will also be available for purchase. 

On Saturday, March 23, inclusion tennessee will reopen its popular Tennessee Name Change Clinic from 10 am to 12 pm at the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. We will partner with local attorneys who will be available on-site to assist people in completing the required paperwork for a legal name change. There will be opportunities to apply for grants to cover the cost of name change processing. For those unable to attend in person, Zoom appointments will be available. More details can be found at: www.inclusiontn.org/namechange

At the end of March, inclusion tennessee is proud to partner with Vanderbilt University to host international award-winning artist, philanthropist, and activist Dominque Morgan on Wednesday, March 2 at 7 pm at the Downtown Nashville Public Library for a conversation on “Discovering Your Power” from her award-winning workbook. Dominique will be joined by leading transgender and gender-expansive voices in Middle Tennessee to discuss the value and power of authenticity and visibility.  

As the Director of the Fund for Trans Generations at Borealis Philanthropy, Dominique leads the largest philanthropic fund serving Trans and Non Binary people. In all of her work, she partners her lived experience of mass incarceration (including 18 months in solitary confinement) with a decade of change-making artistry and advocacy to activate powerful work in spaces of sex education, radical self-care, and transformative youth development with intentions of dismantling the prison industrial complex and a develop a theory she describes as the “gender to prison pipeline.” She is the only Black Trans Woman in the world and the only living Trans Woman in the US to have a street named after her in her hometown of Omaha, Nebraska and the first and only global model in Apple’s history. She has been featured in Forbes, Essence, People, The Advocate, Out Magazine, The Advocate, and Out Magazine.

Nashville Council Member Olivia Hill, the first transgender elected official in the state of Tennessee, will introduce Dominque at the event. 

inclusion tennessee is on a mission to connect people, opportunities, and resources to enrich and enhance the multi-faceted lgbtqia+ community. Learn more about our work and our upcoming program initiatives at inclusiontn.org