The Transgender District — social media graphics

Compton’s Cafeteria Riots 54th Anniversary Party

The main event of Summer 2020 was a virtual party celebrating the 54th anniversary of the Compton’s Cafeteria Riots. The 1966 riots were a revolt against the long history of police harassment and brutality towards transgender people in San Francisco, particularly transgender women of color who were sex workers. According to renowned trans historian Susan Stryker, the Compton’s Cafeteria riots were “the first known incident of collective militant queer resistance to police harassment in U.S. history.” This was three years before the much more well-known 1969 Stonewall Inn uprising in New York City.

I used a 1960s paisley pattern for the background of the graphics, and added bright, energizing colors, including intensified versions of the pink and blue of the transgender flag. The “Save the Date” had a period photo; the announcements closer to the event date used photos of the actual performers and speakers, which I rendered in black-and-white to make the colors stand out more.

2020 Winter Gala

The 2020 Winter Gala was a virtual holiday fundraiser, with a cast of more than 20 musicians, performers, special guests and hosts. It was presented by the Transgender District and the House of Tulip, a nonprofit collective creating housing solutions for transgender and gender non-conforming (TGNC) people in Louisiana. Tulip is an acronym for Trans United Leading Intersectional Progress.

With the in-person winter event cancelled because of the pandemic, this virtual event needed to be presented as a lavish festival in its place. We used a blue-and-white snowflake theme to highlight the season, and rich, full-color images of participants to give a luxurious feel.

Transgender Visibility: Hollywood

In June 2021, the Transgender District presented two online panel discussions on “The State of Transgender Visibility.” The first focused on “Politics, Policy and Social Justice”: transgender people working in and with mission-driven organizations. The second focused on “Hollywood”: transgender people working in and with TV, movies and performance in general.

Graphics for the two discussions needed to share a visual theme. I created a design for both with bright blocks of color to indicate fresh and interesting perspectives, and the light blue and pink of the transgender flag for reference.