Badass Women of Philadelphia: Charlene Arcila

By Alison Cooper

Born in Jacksonville, Mississippi, Charlene Arcila moved to Philadelphia in 1990. She came out as a transwoman and immediately began her activism for LGBT rights. Among her many roles and achievements, Charlene Arcila worked for The Philadelphia AIDS Consortium, served on the board of directors for the Mazzoni Center, and was the treasurer for the William Way Center. She is best known for founding the Philadelphia Trans-Health Conference (now known as the Philadelphia Trans-Wellness Conference) and for removing the gender markers from SEPTA’s transportation passes.

Charlene believed in activism that served her community: “The important thing is to feel connected to people or communities beyond yourself. That plays a major role in reducing isolation and helping us get out of our own heads, gives us a framework for coping and provides support when things get tough.” This philosophy of community-based activism has had lasting impacts for LGBTQ individuals in Philadelphia and beyond.

The Philadelphia AIDS Consortium

When Charlene arrived in Philadelphia, she began working for The Philadelphia AIDS Consortium. Established in 1989, TPAC works to “ensure the availability and coordination of comprehensive and integrative health and social services to individuals who experience lack of affordable healthcare, HIV, sexually transmitted diseases, behavioral health challenges, challenges navigating the system.” Beyond this local scope, TPAC also provides regional and global outreach through leadership training, outreach and support to community-service based organizations.

During her 20-year tenure with the organization, Charlene served as the Executive Assistant to director Yoshiaki Yamasaki. It was during this time that she created the Philadelphia Trans-Health Conference.

The Philadelphia Trans-Health Conference

In 2000, Charlene Arcila noticed a disparity. She saw that there were resources and conferences for trans people in the upper-middle class. But for people who were poor, homeless, and/or living with HIV/AIDS, there wasn’t such outreach or support. So with the help of funding from The Philadelphia AIDS Consortium, she created the Philadelphia Trans-Health Conference.

The Philadelphia Trans-Health Conference (now known as the Philadelphia Trans-Wellness Conference) is now the largest conference in the world for transgender, gender-nonconforming, and intersex people. PTHC was started to provide education to healthcare providers and support for trans individuals regarding their health and wellness. The mission of the conference is “to educate and empower transgender individuals on issues of health and well-being, and educate and inform allies and health service providers, and to facilitate networking and community building.” And importantly, the conference is accessible to people of all income levels because it is free.

Initially, the conference took place over the course of one day full of workshops and networking events. Because of funding needs, the conference picked up by the Mazonni Center, a Philadelphia healthcare provider focused on LGBTQ health and wellness. Charlene remained on the Planning Committee as Co-Chair and the People of Color Working Group Lead. She was a driving force for recruiting planning committee members on a global level and brought people from Africa, China, and India to the conference.

Each year, the conference grew and attracted more people from across the country and the globe. Now the conference takes place over the course of three days, and in 2017 nearly 7,000 people attended.

Mazzoni Center Executive Director Nurit Shenin emphasized the importance of Charlene Arcila’s vision: “The conference has created visibility for the community, opportunities for networking, for learning and, now that we have created professional tracts, an opportunity for us to educate providers — legal, medical or behavioral health — on issues relating to the trans community,”

The Philadelphia Trans-Wellness Conference now honors Charlene Arcila’s incredible work for her community by giving out the “Charlene Arcila Pioneer Award” at the conference. This award celebrates groundbreaking trans, gender-nonconforming, and intersex individuals who have worked to help build the PTWC.

Fighting SEPTA’s Discrimination

In 2006, Charlene faced discrimination because of her gender identity while using a SEPTA bus. While she was trying to get home from a long day of activist work, a bus driver confronted her, claiming her appearance didn’t match the gender identity marker on her monthly transportation pass. He ordered her to pay an additional $2 in order to ride the bus. Too tired to argue, Arcila agreed and paid the unnecessary fee.

But she would not allow this discrimination to continue. Charlene complained to SEPTA and worked with Equality Advocates including then Executive Director of the Office of LGBT Affairs, Gloria Casarez, to file a formal complaint with the city’s Commission on Human Relations.

The outdated SEPTA gender markers were implemented in 1981 to purportedly prevent riders from sharing passes, according to SEPTA spokesperson Jerri Williams. However, Charlene Arcila and other activists argued that didn’t make logical sense. As trans activist and artist Kathleen Padilla explained, “any two women or two men can share passes.” SEPTA’s excuse for the gender-identity markers highlighted the discrimination trans and gender nonconforming people face day-to-day in tasks as ordinary and as essential as public transportation.

Inspired by Charlene Arcila’s experience, the organization the Riders Against Gender Exclusion (RAGE) rallied around her cause. Their goal was to challenge the city’s discrimination against trans and gender nonconforming people using public transportation. They argued for “everyone’s right to ride public transportation without being interrogated about their gender.”

Encouraged by community support and interest, RAGE set up a meeting with the Community Advisory Committee, “an official SEPTA body meant to represent community concerns and make non-binding recommendations to SEPTA” which unanimously agreed that the gender markers should be removed. Despite the success of this meeting, SEPTA refused to change its policy. This lead the group to start a petition drive that received over 1,000 signatures and to hold a protest at the Suburban Station called “SEPTA is a Drag!” The group also launched a complaint reporting system in order to hold SEPTA accountable for their discrimination.

After many years of such grassroots campaigns, SEPTA finally dropped the gender marker from weekly and monthly passes in 2013. It is because of Charlene Arcila’s public stance against the discriminatory practice that trans and gender nonconforming people won’t have to feel outed and discriminated against while simply trying to ride the bus.

You can learn more about Charlene Arcila’s impact in Philadelphia on Beyond the Bell Tour’s Queering Philly History. Availability, booking, and further information can be found on our website. You can also check us out on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.