These panels from the “Freedom to Be” quilt aim to elevate trans joy & resilience

A panel from the ACLU’s Freedom to Be quilt.
Photo: ACLU

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) will kick off World Pride in Washington, D.C., next month with a powerful statement elevating trans joy and resilience in the face of the current administration and state Republican lawmakers’ ongoing attacks on transgender rights.

On May 17, the organization will unveil its Freedom to Be Monument in the nation’s capital. According to the ACLU, the massive art installation, inspired by the AIDS Memorial Quilt, will consist of 258 6ft. x 6ft. square panels stitched together to form the words “Freedom to Be.”

Each one of the panels was created over the past year by transgender Americans, their families, and allies in response to the prompt “What does freedom to be mean to me?” as part of the ACLU’s “Freedom to Be” campaign highlighting trans joy. At events across the country over the past year, participants started with blank panels, which they decorated with handstitched embellishments, paint, ink, and other media to express their own lived experience, heritage, faith, and communities.

As the ACLU notes, the finished product reflects the diversity of trans people in the U.S.

“Trans people are so often the topic, but we’re rarely the voice,” transgender advocate and ACLU communications strategist Gillian Branstetter told CNN late last month. “A big goal was synthesizing the full scope of that diversity into one loud display of not just what we’re fighting against, but what we’re fighting for.”

And there is plenty to fight against. The ACLU notes that across the U.S., Republican lawmakers have passed more than 80 new state laws targeting…

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