Saya Clarke
Trans activist says getting County Commissioners to pass a resolution rebuking discrimination is just the first step
CAROLINE SAVOIE | Contributing Writer
CarolineLSavoie@gmail.com
On Tuesday, Sept. 17, the Dallas County Commissioners Court passed a resolution acknowledging and rebuking discrimination against transgender people. “Trans Safe Haven” resolution author Saya Clarke, a 33-year-old transgender activist, organizer and leader of the Democratic Socialists of America North Texas chapter, said she’s taking a similar resolution to the city of Dallas next.
“This [resolution] is a response to yet another wave of escalation in attacks on trans people across the country and specifically in Texas,” Clarke explained.
She cited new Department of Public Safety and Vital Statistics guidelines that don’t allow transgender people to put their preferred gender identity on their licenses and birth certificates, even if they have a court order to do so.
“[These guidelines] denigrate trans life by denying us the basic dignity of identifying ourselves properly on our documents,” Clarke said. “But there’s a gray area around these guidelines. They’re not laws, and we’re looking to challenge them. There’s room to change them.”
Dallas County Commissioner Theresa Daniel
Clarke said she wrote the resolution in July and presented it to the court during public comment at one of its biweekly meetings. After she presented her ideas, she said, two commissioners approached her to work on the resolution with her.
“I was over the moon,” Clarke said, noting that both District 2 Commissioner Andy Sommerman and District 1 Commissioner Theresa Daniel asked to help push the resolution through. But because Daniel has been on the court for 12 years and has sponsored other pro-LGBTQ resolutions, Clarke decided to work mainly with her.
“This resolution rebukes state legislators’ attempts to infringe on our liberties and the subsequent violence and abuse this has fueled, cites professional guidelines for gender affirming care, including youth, recognizes the significant contributions made by trans residents of Dallas County and declares Dallas County to be a safe place for trans people and their families to put down roots,” Clarke said.
For Daniel, the main premise is this: “Discrimination anywhere is wrong,” she said. “Whether you’re old, Hispanic, autistic — we have to figure out ways to be even-handed about how we provide service.”
Clarke said Texas Republicans “traffic in the politics of fear, bigotry and intimidation for short term gain, but the people of North Texas are once again choosing to rise above it.”
The looming 2025 Texas legislative session is likely to bring more anti-trans legislation to the state, Clarke warned. But, she said, “We’re all anticipating it, so we have to be proactive to get people on board to defend our liberties.
“There’s a broader environment of hate across the country, so a resolution like this is needed to show we have actual people on record saying that legislation against us is unjust.”
Daniel said that if a person believes that discrimination is wrong, they would support a resolution such as this one. She said when the court supports a resolution, it serves as a public education effort and a forum to talk about the issues at hand.
“Our Dallas County commissioners, Judge [Clay] Jenkins and the people they represent overwhelmingly support trans life of all ages and all walks of life,” Clarke said. “I know they will keep fighting to keep Dallas County safe for my community, and I look forward to working with them again in the future.”
The resolution says: “Dallas County remains committed to ensuring that all constituents are free from discrimination and harassment of any form” and “Dallas County recognizes the significant contributions made by transgender people and affirms that they are vital members of our community.”
The resolution says that trans people face high levels of discrimination, stigma and bias that all fuel abuse against the community. It notes that more than 100 bills were filed in the 88th Texas Legislature attacking the trans community’s access to healthcare “despite the fact that gender-affirming healthcare has been proven to be evidence-based, medically necessary, and lifesaving by the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the American Academy of Pediatricians, the Endocrine Society, the American Psychiatric Association, and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, amongst other institutions.”
The resolution quotes Andrea Segovia, senior field and policy adviser of the Transgender Education Network of Texas, who says that Texas has become one of the most dangerous and hostile places for transgender youth and transgender people and their families in America.
“The Dallas County Commissioners Court is committed to the protections offered under the Fourteenth Amendment of the US Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause,” the resolution reads. “We recognize that creating a welcoming county for LGBTQ+ individuals and families would encourage LGBTQ+ residents seeking an affirming place to live, and who may be coming from hostile environments, to find safety and put down roots in Dallas County.”
It continues by saying the Dallas County Commissioners Court “does hereby reaffirm our commitment to equal protection and freedom from discrimination on the basis of sex, including our commitment to ensuring LGBTQ+ individuals are free from discrimination, whether by individuals, businesses or governments.
The resolution challenges the Texas Legislature to “codify these protections and refrain from restricting these rights,” and it calls upon the United States Congress to pass the Equality Act prohibiting discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation or gender identity with respect to businesses, employment, housing, federally funded programs and other settings.”
Clarke said several organizations came out to support the resolution’s passing, including Stonewall Democrats, Equality Texas and the Trans Empowerment Coalition.
She said she wasn’t worried the Commissioners Court wouldn’t pass the resolution because of something County Judge Clay Jenkins said in 2019 after multiple transgender women were murdered in Dallas. According to the Dallas Morning News, Jenkins said that the murders were a result of an “epidemic of violence and hate” against transgender people.
Now with the Commissioners Court having passed this resolution, Clarke said she has set her sights on the Dallas City Council.
“I am going to go to the city to try and pass something even stronger,” Clarke said. “And I’m not stopping at the city.
“I grew up here. It’s offensive that the state could single us out when I’m fully Texan in my blood,” Clarke said. “They think that because I’m a queer person I’m not as proud of my liberties and freedoms. But I love my freedoms as much as any other American.”