San Quentin Rehabilitation Center held its first Transgender Visibility Night on April 1, giving a glimpse of hope to the community.

SQ residents gathered in Chapel B to celebrate their true identities with members and supporters of the transgender and gender nonconforming community.

“Thirty-four years of incarceration, this is the first time I was allowed to feel love and inclusivity,” said Taina Ortiz, a trans woman housed at SQ. “The other institutions I’ve been at don’t let you do this kind of thing, where we can be ourselves without any retribution.”

Transgender communities are exposed to numerous adversities, which both compromises and threatens their quality of life. The community has been faced with premature death and dehumanizing abuse that is substantially higher than for cisgendered people, according to the event’s program.

David Greenwald, from the news publication Davis Vanguard , called the event a beacon of hope in a dark place.

This event was organized by an incarcerated transgender woman, Angie Gordon. Gordon has expressed concerns about how people like her have been disproportionately impacted by crime, and how visibility of the community is critical to staying safe.

“Because you can’t help somebody that you can’t see,” Gordon said.

The event was a celebration of identities and struggles inside prison settings. It re-conceived visibility as resilience for love, healing, and inclusivity for thousands of incarcerated members of this community.

“I think that this is a real step forward where people are able to talk about the complexities of existence in prison, a system [that] doesn’t recognize individual issues,” said Cynthia Rodriguez, vice-chair of the Board of Directors for Davis Vanguard. “People in prison are more than their offenses. These are all brave, thoughtful individuals.”

A panel discussion was held with candid storytelling and powerful performances, and music from an incarcerated band “The 115’s.”

One of the event’s participants shared that they felt a relieving of pressure now that they can be themself, adding that being in the open has brought them a sense of peace and tranquility.

Dr. April Carrillo, a queer criminologist from the University of South Dakota and part of the San Quentin administration, chimed in via Skype as a facilitator and consultant.

She asked the panel about the difficulties in maintaining a romantic relationship while incarcerated. According to the California Code of Regulation Title 15, it is prohibited for incarcerated people to have an ‘intimate relationship’ with other residents.

This topic hit home to some of the transgender women who are afraid to be denied parole after getting a disciplinary infraction for being perceived as too friendly with others. One of the panelists expressed disappointment because an officer disciplined a friend for hugging someone on the prison yard.

“We were there to share a message of resiliency in the face of setback,” Gordon told attendees. “Trump is a punch in the face, for many out there but especially for the trans community. But punches in the face are going to happen; it’s what you do with those moments, right?”