Danica Roem in conversation with Raquel Willis
Each year on October 11, the LGBTQ community celebrates National Coming Out Day, a holiday grounded in the philosophy that coming out of the closet and living openly as an LGBTQ person is a form of activism.
In honor of the 30th anniversary of National Coming Out Day, the JCCSF is proud to present Danica Roem. In January, she made history as the first openly transgender woman to serve in a state legislature. Running on a Democratic platform of traffic and road improvements, raising teacher pay and expanding access to healthcare in her district, she unseated Virginia’s 20-year House of Delegates incumbent of the 13th district, Bob Marshall.
Spend the evening with Delegate Roem as she discusses her trailblazing journey to the legislature and shares insights on what it means to be a political leader in our country today.
Raquel Willis is a black queer transgender activist, writer and speaker dedicated to inspiring and elevating marginalized individuals, particularly transgender women of color. She is a National Organizer for Transgender Law Center, the largest organization in the U.S. advocating on behalf of transgender and gender nonconforming people.
"To every person who's ever been singled out, who's ever been stigmatized, who's ever been the misfit, who's ever been the kid in the corner, who's ever needed someone to stand up for them when they didn't have a voice of their own: This one is for you."
– Danica Roem
