Liam Beran
Ald. Dina Nina Martinez-Rutherford addresses reporters at a transgender pride flag raising March 31.
Ald. Dina Nina Martinez-Rutherford: ‘Representation matters, not just for those of us here today, but for every young person across the city, across this state and across this country that are looking for proof that they belong and that their voices matter and that their future is limitless.’ Elected in April 2023, Martinez-Rutherford said serving as the first openly transgender member of the city council has been ‘one of the greatest honors of my life.’
Liam Beran
Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway addresses reporters at a March 31 transgender pride flag raising.
Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway: ‘We're here to celebrate the fact that Madison is, and always has been, and always will be home to trans people...The safety and the livelihoods of trans people are being threatened.' Trans people, she added, are being targeted ‘to divide our country in a hateful and really disappointing way.’ She invited those who feel uncomfortable with there being an International Transgender Day of Visibility to think about the various ways Madison’s diversity makes ‘our community stronger [and] their lives richer.’
Liam Beran
Community members stand at a March 31 transgender pride flag raising.
The city of Madison has been raising the trans pride flag since 2023 in front of the Madison Municipal Building. That same year the city council declared Madison a ‘trans sanctuary’ through a resolution that urged Madison’s police chief to make enforcement of anti-trans state legislation ‘their lowest priority.’
Liam Beran
