Sadie Croft's handwritten letter to President Barack Obama. Courtesy image.
Sadie Croft, a 12-year-old transgender girl from Arizona who was to be in San Antonio on June 29 to serve as the Youth Grand Marshal for the 2013 Pride Parade, will not be attending this year’s Pride festivities for undisclosed reasons. Her story, however, is still a powerful one and her presence will be missed. Please see a schedule of this weekend’s Pride events below.
[Updated by Iris Dimmick at 10:30 a.m. on June 28,2013.]
Croft, who transitioned to a female when she was in kindergarten, gained widespread attention last January when she wrote a special letter to President Obama.
The letter was in response to a statement the President made during his inaugural speech:
“Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law — for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well.”
Sadie Croft. Image via Facebook.
In press interviews, Croft’s mother said that Sadie was encouraged by the President’s comment but wished he had included transgender people in the statement.
Croft decided that she would pen a letter to the President with her own speech, one that details her “dream world” where transgender people are accepted. In the letter, the young girl detailed the problems transgender people face everyday.
“Transgender people are not allowed the freedom to do things everyone else does, like go to the doctor, go to school, get a job, and even make friends,” she states in her letter.
Croft’s mother posted the letter on the Sadie’s Facebook page and it soon spread over the internet.
Mrs. Croft told the Daily Mail that she encouraged Sadie to write the letter because “it might help empower her and overcome feelings of oppression.”
Following is the text of Sadie Croft’s “alternative” inaugural speech:
Sadie Croft’s handwritten letter to President Barack Obama. Courtesy image.
“The world would be a better place if everyone had the right to be themselves, including people who have a creative gender identity and expression. Transgender people are not allowed the freedom to do things everyone else does, like go to the doctor, go to school, get a job, and even make friends.
‘Transgender kids like me are not allowed to go to most schools because the teachers think we are different from everyone else. The schools get afraid of how they will talk with the other kids’ parents, and transgender kids are kept secret or told not to come there anymore. Kids are told not to be friends with transgender kids, which makes us very lonely and sad.
‘When they grow up, transgender adults have a hard time getting a job because the boss thinks the customers will be scared away. Doctors are afraid of treating transgender patients because they don’t know how to take care of them, and some doctors don’t really want to help them. Transgender patients like me travel to other states to see a good doctor.
‘It would be a better world if everyone knew that transgender people have the same hopes and dreams as everyone else. We like to make friends and want to go to school. Transgender people want to get good jobs and go to doctors like they are exactly the same. It really isn’t that hard to like transgender people because we are like everyone else.”
Meet the Grand Marshals – Enjoy the ambiance- Indulge in gourmet treats
$20 single tickets/ $35 paired tickets
Sponsored by Statue of Design
Tickets: PrideSanAntonio.org/emeraldkiss/
Saturday June 29, 2013
Pride San Antonio Festival
Noon – 9 p.m.
Crockett Park, 1300 N. Main
$7 admission
Rainbow Dash 1 Mile Run
8 p.m. Crockett Park on N. Main Ave
Registration $15 includes admission to festival
High Heel Race
N. Main Avenue at 8:30 p.m.
Free
Parade
Steps off at 9 p.m. at North Main Street & Dewey Place
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Saturday August 3, 2013
Pride Volleyball Tournament
Sideliner’s Grill at 7 p.m.
25630 Henderson Pass
$15 per person
Sam Sanchez is publisher and writer of QSanAntonio.com, an online source for LGBT news in San Antonio. After graduating from St. Mary’s University in 1975, he’s lived in New York City, Los Angeles and San Francisco, while pursuing careers in publishing and marketing communications. He came home to San Antonio in 2006. Contact Sam via email or follow QSanAntonio by liking their page on Facebook.
3 replies on “Updated: Transgender Girl No Longer Youth Grand Marshal of Pride Parade”
UPDATE: For reasons not released, Sadie Croft will NOT be attending this year’s Pride festivities.
Will someone explain to me what a transgender child is?
A transgender individual (child, teen, or adult) is someone whose gender identity does not align with the gender roles of their assigned/genetic sex (not to be confused with sexual orientation).
UPDATE: For reasons not released, Sadie Croft will NOT be attending this year’s Pride festivities.
Will someone explain to me what a transgender child is?
A transgender individual (child, teen, or adult) is someone whose gender identity does not align with the gender roles of their assigned/genetic sex (not to be confused with sexual orientation).
There is quite a comprehensive explanation on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgender
The American Psychological Association: http://www.apa.org/topics/sexuality/transgender.aspx
Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD): http://www.glaad.org/transgender