Ronnie and Ellie were at Capital TransPride (@TransPrideDC) this weekend, with their mother and father, Vanessa (@VanessaFordDC) and JR (@CrunchyDCGuy). The Ford family have been visible leaders (see these links to multiple national media outlets covering their story) in one of the most defining social movements our time. Their work is as valuable if not more than any physician’s in promoting health and long lives for LGBTQ human beings.
Health and Healing
It’s what it felt like to be at Capital TransPride, now my 5th in a row. There was both the image of health and healing. This was the first year that Kaiser Permanente formally introduced a comprehensive transgender health program to these communities. Not one but four Permanente physicians (@PermanenteDocs) were present, along with therapists, researchers, and other health leaders. Whitman Walker Health (@WhitmanWalker), a national leader in transgender person health, and LGBTQ health in general, was also present (of course).
Whitman Walker also treated Washington, DC to a transgender pride flag light show from the windows of its health center, in one of the busiest night time corridors in the city. This is not the first time that Whitman Walker has done what the White House wasn’t able to in being a leader for health. I’ll be posting about that this week.
The world is learning to love better.
Leadership and Much Much More to do
2017.05.20 Capital TransPride Washington, DC USA 5129 (View on Flickr.com)
At the same time, these are communities whose health and life trajectory are under threat, as told by Vanessa and Ron Ford as well as Gavin Grimm (@GavinGrimmVA) whose School Board worked to socially isolate transgender children based on non-scienced based views of reality.
We are also nearing the 1 year anniversary of the massacre of 49 human beings in Orlando, Florida, based on their identities as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer. What we do here matters.
I was asked by an attendee how a busy doctor would have time to be part of Capital TransPride, and my answer is that health is what a doctor is supposed to be busy doing 🙂 .
My photographs are below, and I have a few more things to post in the next day(s). With thanks to the gracious hosts at Studio Theatre (@Studio_Theatre) – not only was the space this year amazing, but the lighting inside a place built for art makes for beautiful pictures as well.