NYC Officially Recognizes 'Cecilia Gentili Day' on the Birthday of the Legendary Trans Rights Activist
New York City has passed a resolution designating January 31 as Cecilia Gentili Day, in honor of the legendary late activist's impact on her birthday.
The City Council held a vote to pass Resolution 678 on January 23, with members of the committee voting 3-1 in favor of the resolution, according to video of the meeting posted to citymeetings.nyc.
Prior to the vote, Council Member Tiffany Cabán offered remarks on the resolution and what Gentili meant to New Yorkers. In a video posted to citymeetings.nyc, Cabán shared that she was 'feeling a lot of feelings this morning,' and that she was 'super, super proud' to be honoring Gentili. The Councilmember called her 'a fearless leader, a trans icon, an author, an actress, a pioneering advocate for the dignity and freedom of sex workers and so much more.'
In a separate testimony in front of the city council, Río Sofia, Gentili's daughter and the co-executive director of the arts organization QUEER|ART, expanded on her mother's tireless advocacy. Sofia herself met Gentili at Apicha Community Health Center, which she grew 'from a program that served 27 trans people in the city to over 500.' Gentili also founded the sex worker rights organization Decrim NY, and was instrumental in the repeal of the 'Walking While Trans' law. Her legislative legacy also includes advocating for the passage of the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA), which amended New York state's civil rights law to add gender identity/expression as a protected category. Sofia also noted that Gentili founded the COIN Clinic at the LGBTQ+ health organization Callen-Lorde, a first-of-its-kind clinic providing free healthcare for sex workers in the city.
Sofia's summary of Cecilia's impact was just a selection of ways Gentili has shaped the livelihood of the city's trans and sex workers population in the city and beyond. Sofia described that Gentili had received so many accolades 'that she just kept them in a cardboard box in her closet.'
The Legacy of Cecilia Gentili: Artist, Mother, and Saint of Trans Liberation
Gentili lived a life dedicated to our collective liberation. The legendary artist and organizer is the posthumous recipient of our 2024 Vanguard Award.
'At one point, she was like, 'If there aren't material things that come with these accolades, these recognitions, I don't want them,'' she said. 'So I want us to remember every January 31st that what Cecilia was fighting for was not about recognition. It was about trans liberation, liberation for immigrants, for sex workers, and I want us to carry forth that legacy.'
To honor the inaugural Cecilia Gentili Day, the organizations G.L.I.T.S., Cecilia's organization Trans Equity Consulting, and Queer|Art will be holding a celebration at La MaMa Experimental Theatre this afternoon from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
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