Tour Spotlight: Trans History Tour

Hear about the resilience of the trans community in Philadelphia throughout the decades and the trans leaders who have paved the way for the queer community in Philadelphia today.

Meet Your Guide!

Jake Muscato is a recent graduate from West Chester University where he studied Political Science and Women & Gender Studies. He has spent the past year serving as an Americorps member with City Year Philadelphia. Jake has been committed to advocating for trans rights since his time in college and is excited to share some trans history with folks on this tour!

Tour Itinerary

First Stop – The Mazzoni Center in Philly is widely known for the healthcare resources it provides to members of the queer and more specifically, trans community. We will discuss Charlene Arcila, who founded what we know today as the Trans Health Conference in Philly and Naiymah Sanchez who is currently involved in activism for the trans community in Philly today.

Second Stop – Bob and Barbara’s lounge prides itself on hosting the longest running drag show in Philadelphia, starting in 1969. Nizah Morris, a local trans woman, performed at Bob and Barbara’s lounge up until her unexpected death in 2002.

Third Stop – The Attic Youth Center is a space that supports LGBTQIA homeless youth in Philadelphia. Hazel Edwards, a recent high school student in Philly, who experienced extreme adversity when coming out as trans to her high school admin. She now works for the Attic Youth Center, supporting their programming and educating the Philly School District on competency for queer and trans youth.

Fourth Stop – Dewey’s Famous was an old lunch spot in Philly in the 60’s. Many LGBTQIA folks found solace in their 13th street location, but the 17th location decided to refuse service to the LGBTQA community, which led to a sit in by over 150 protestors.

Fifth Stop – The Wilma Theater is one of many like it in the theater district. This stop will focus on trans folks in Philly that are involved in local arts – people like Pax Ressler who create and perform art outside the gender binary, and Stacey Blahnik who was a well-known housemother in the Philly ballroom community.

Sixth Stop – William Way Community Center provides a plethora of resources for local trans and queer folks in Philly. We will discuss a couple trans individuals – Henry Sias and Deja Lynn Alvarez – who have been using their voices to fight for the rights of folks in the trans community, and ensure that resources are always available.

Details-

Duration: 1hr 45 mins

*Accessibility notes: Tour includes 1.5 miles of walking outside. There will be opportunities to stop if people need breaks or to sit and rest throughout. There will be one formal bathroom break about half way through the tour, but we can stop and wait if someone needs to go before the halfway point. The route is designed to be wheelchair/ECV accessible by using only sidewalks with curb cuts, and venues with wheelchair accessible entrances.

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