For the first time in its history, the San Antonio City Council on Tuesday issued a proclamation recognizing Trans History Week, May 4-10.
“This right here is why I love San Antonio, because I would always say it loud, San Antonio has no home for hate,” said Rain Garcia, who leads Unfiltered Wings, an advocacy group for transgender and non-binary people in the community.
District 2 Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez, the first openly gay, Black man elected to the council, introduced the proclamation.
It read in part, “whereas acknowledging these often overlooked or erased histories as essential to counter misinformation and ensure that the culture, knowledge and experience of trans ancestors are preserved and shared as a source of well-being and a toolkit for liberation today …”
Trans History Week is a global event led by a Trans-led nonprofit as a weeklong reflective period to learn and celebrate the history of transgender, non-binary, gender-diverse and intersex people.
The timing coincides with Trans+ History Day on May 6, which is the anniversary of the 1933 Nazi raid on the world’s first trans clinic in Berlin.
‘Here I am’
A spokesperson from the advocacy group Equality Texas, Naveen Farrani, issued a statement saying, “At a moment when both our state and country are systematically trying to push trans people out of public life, erase our stories, and outright deny our existence, this proclamation recognizing Trans History Week is a beacon to trans people in San Antonio and across Texas.”
At the meeting, Sofia Sepulveda, community engagement advocacy director for Equality Texas, detailed a history that dates from ancient times to modern, with the largest recorded LGBTQ+ advocacy day in Texas history held in March 2025.
“We trans people will continue to exist and create and make history in Texas even when people don’t want us to thrive,” she said. “I don’t think I could have done what I did had I not been allowed to transition.
“I have been who I am since I was 4 years old. Despite my parents ire and reprimands, despite their beatings and despite state oppression, here I am.”
Also on hand for the proclamation was San Antonio’s first transgender council member (2025), Leo Castillo-Anguiano, who works for Thrive Youth Center, a shelter for homeless LGBTQ+ youth.
The decree “tells every young trans person in San Antonio that you are not alone, that you belong here, your history matters, and your future does, too,” Castillo-Anguiano said. “I dream of a city where every trans youth can grow up feeling supported, respected and free to be their full authentic selves.”
District 6 Councilman Ric Galvan said the issue was personal for him, with family and friends who are transgender, “who have helped shape me to be the person I am.”
“I always want to make sure that we are standing firm with them, as well as everybody in our community who is exploring, learning and trying their best to be their best selves and feel safe in our city,” Galvan said.
Last year, more than 100 bills were aimed at LGBTQ+ people in Texas. Ten were approved by state lawmakers, including establishing and broadly applying state definitions for male and female and banning schools from teaching about sexual orientation or gender identity.
On the national level, there’s a renewed fear that marriage equality could once again be at risk.
“Trans history is civil rights history,” said Councilwoman Teri Castillo (D5), supporting the proclamation along with Councilwomen Sukh Kaur (D1) and Marina Alderete Gavito (D7), who said she is ready to join the March of Us event in 2027.
Rainbow sidewalks
Councilwoman Phyllis Viagran (D3) got emotional while speaking. “It gives me hope that we as a nation are going to be OK if we continue to work together.”
Castillo, Kaur and Viagran have signed on to a policy proposal submitted in April by McKee-Rodriguez that seeks to ensure access to public restrooms, protect personal public health information, encourage single-user restrooms and affirm the accuracy of personal identification.
Councilman Edward Mungia (D4) said he is proud to have also added his signature to the council consideration request titled, “Looking Out for Vulnerable Impacted Neighbors” (LOVIN).
“Y’all are not just existing — you guys are thriving,” Mungia said. “You’re doing amazing work in our community, not just for your own community, but for the entire city of San Antonio.”
Council members Marc Whyte (D10) and Misty Spears (D9) were not present on the dais for the proclamation, though Spears later returned.
In January, both officials criticized the city’s decision to install rainbow-colored sidewalks in San Antonio’s Pride Cultural Heritage District. The move was a response to rainbow crosswalks being removed in compliance with Gov. Greg Abbott’s order to eliminate political ideologies from streets.
Whyte and Spears argued the sidewalk project was a misuse of public funds.
Michael Rendon is chairman of the city’s LGBTQ+ Advisory Board, which planned a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the sidewalks.
“I think the rainbow sidewalks really have gotten people excited and activated [asking] what else can we do with this strip, and how can we really make the community there thrive?” Rendon said.
As a member of the local board of governors of Human Rights Campaign, Rendon was happy to hear about the Trans History Week proclamation.
The nonprofit’s posts to social media in support for transgender people often elicits hateful comments, he said. “It just kind of blows my mind sometimes that in 2026 people find they have the need just to make a comment or say what’s on their mind, when really they … probably don’t even know somebody that’s trans.”
June is officially recognized as Pride Month. Rendon is planning for the board to support a new event this year, Black Pride, June 8-14, and to participate in the city’s Pride River Parade on May 30.
‘Respect and kindness and love’
“I hope you feel the overwhelming love and support that you have up here,” said McKee-Rodriguez, addressing the half-dozen citizens who spoke in support of the proclamation at City Hall last week.
The councilman and mayor pro-tem read the proclamation on behalf of Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones, the city’s first lesbian mayor, who was traveling on mayoral business but had issued the decree.
McKee-Rodriguez referenced his time as a teacher to six students who were transgender or gender nonconforming and who had either attempted suicide or attempted to run away from home.
“At the end of the day, we’re people, [and] the way that we talk about each other, matters, and it’s pushing people to make life-ending decisions,” he said. “So we all have a duty to treat each other with respect and kindness and love.”
