Transgender Day of Visibility (“TDOV”) is celebrated every year on March 31^st. This day was originally founded in 2009 by Rachel Crandall, a Michigan-based transgender activist and the Executive Director of Transgender Michigan. TDOV is a day to bring awareness, celebrate and acknowledge the contributions made by nonbinary and gender-diverse communities (“trans” to encompass anyone who does not identify with their sex assigned at birth). It is quite evident how much the transgender community, worldwide, has been hit with relentless hate, violence and discrimination, making it incredibly hard for transgenders and nonbinary people to live openly and authentically. Hate and discrimination is just some of many issues transgender and nonbinary folks face.

CMBG3’s DEI team honored TDOV by providing educational materials to team members on the purpose of the day and ways to be an ally to the transgender and non-binary communities. The DEI Committee provided team members with This is 52 Things You Can Do for Transgender Equality, including:

1. Educate, advocate and stand up for the transgender community so they can be free from hate and discrimination;
   1. Visit pinkmantaray.com/allyship for resources on how to become an ally. They have free webinars.
2. Value conversation over confrontation, something Jermaine Moore touched on during our courageous conversations session. Engage in conversations when people exhibit bigoted behavior;
3. Learn about terminology surrounding the transgender community;
   1. See attached image to educate yourselves on proper language.
4. Correct people when they misgender trans folks;
5. Consider adding your pronouns attached to your email signatures;
   1. Sharing pronouns dismantles the idea that gender expression (how we present ourselves and how we are received) always equals gender identity (who we know ourselves to be)
6. Do not comment on someone’s appearance as it relates to their gender.

CMBG3 is proud to be a majority women-owned law firm and we are sincerely committed to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives not only in our firm, but in the legal community and society as a whole. For more about our D.E.I. initiatives, please visit us or contact our Chair of D.E.I., Seta Accaoui.