In a show of solidarity, White Oak Books and Queer Youth Resource Center are joining forces to host a fundraiser dedicated to lifting up Clark County’s transgender residents.
Queer Night Out, 7 p.m. May 1 at the Kiggins Theatre in downtown Vancouver, will include live performances and a silent auction. All the proceeds from the event will go to local and statewide organizations that support transgender and queer residents. Tickets range from $25 to $500.
“My biggest hope from the night is that trans people know that they are loved and supported,” said Peter Glavin, co-owner of White Oak Books.
The money raised will go to three nonprofits: Clark County-based Queer Youth Resource Center, Queer Community Network and the Gender Justice League, which is active statewide.
“All this money is going to the trans community one way or another,” said Stella Cope, vice president of the resource center. “We’re hoping that people will show up, they’ll learn, they’ll see how important it is.”
Jamison Green, author of “A History of Transgender Medicine in the United States” will also speak at the event.
Organizers said they’ve received wide community support from local businesses and companies that donated goods for the auction or advertised the event.
The idea for Queer Night Out bloomed a couple of months ago as White Oak Books owners, Glavin and Sara Smith, followed what is happening across the United States politically. They knew they had to do something to show their support for Clark County’s transgender community.
“Their rights are being stripped away,” Smith said. “I hope the event doesn’t just bring attention to the needs of the trans community — which are deep and vast — but I think this is a great opportunity to get to know them and learn about what is going on.”
Given recent attacks on trans people around the county, the event will have security, organizers said.
Since entering office for his second term, President Donald Trump has issued a series of executive orders targeting transgender Americans. Those include banning transgender people from serving in the military, cutting federal aid for youth gender transitions and redefining sex federally, among others.
“The trans community is being targeted so specifically,” Queer Youth Resource Center President Adam Rominger said. “We want them to feel loved and for them to know the community has their back.”
