An Arlington, Virginia-based nonprofit unveiled a large quilt Wednesday night that was decorated by and dedicated to transgender youth.
It was standing room only in the auditorium at the Arlington Central Library for the quilt unveiling and reception hosted by Equality Arlington.
The 10-foot-wide, 7.5-foot-tall quilt has 88 squares, 54 of which were decorated by transgender and nonbinary youth between 5 and 19 years old in Arlington County. Surrounding those squares are 34 made by parents and allies.
The project was the brainchild of Equality Arlington as a way to help the community “visualize what our trans and nonbinary population looks like,” Kellen Macbeth, president of Equality Arlington, said.
“Our schools are being attacked by the Trump administration and by a lot of different forces,” Macbeth said. “We felt like people didn’t have a good sense of who are we fighting for and what are we fighting for.”
She said the quilt gave kids the opportunity to amplify their voice without publicizing themselves or going on camera.
For the last six months, Hans Bauman has coordinated the quilt project, which he said started out as a “call back to the AIDS Quilt of the 1980s.”
“We see a lot of those same forces happening today, where transgender people are being pushed to the margins,” Bauman said. “We want to give young people a voice, to be free, to be themselves and to speak their truth.”
Inside the crowded room, people sat to watch a short film showing the process of making the quilt.
“I love it, I think it looks great,” Eleanor Tober said. “It’s fun seeing all the bits and pieces of the artistic expression. Like one of our students did the shark, which is kind of like a gay/trans icon.”
Tober teaches at Wakefield High School and is the school’s Pride Club adviser. She was joined at the event by her mother, who is also a teacher.
“I really feel protective of our trans and nonbinary students,” Tober said. “More than ever, they need that space, that teacher, that community behind them to lift them up and let them be seen and heard.”
Soon, the Trans Youth Quilt will make its permanent home at Arlington Central Library.
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