(Order this 3-layered, blade-cut cardstock piece from trans artist Ro Mottsmith Art at: https://romottsmith.com/shop/p/trans-resistance-papelpic-arte)
<More of Dahron’s interview below. In total, our interview is just over an hour, so a cup of strong coffee or stiff drink may be helpful, depending on when you listen.>
Friends, After a hiatus of over a month- to enjoy a 40th anniversary trip with my husband and then to visit family living in a blue state up North- I returned to learn that during the last days of Pride Month, Vanderbilt University Hospital decided to abdicate its responsibility to continue to evolve its over 20 years+ high-quality and supportive medical care for members of the Trans community.
Clearly, a combination of political pressure from the state and federal governments, coupled with an expanding business-first approach to health care, led to this decision. But we must remember that over the last few years, Vandy has proactively answered first to these pressures and only secondly to those for whom it has an ethical responsibility to provide medical care and support.
You can click on the following links for background on what occurred:
The Tennessean, Beth Warren, 7/5/25
I’ve attached a copy of the 7/1/25 letter Neighborhood Health sent to its LGBTQIA+ patients. Click on this link to see the 7/1/25 letter Metro Council’s LGBTQIA+ Caucus sent to Vanderbilt in protest of their action.
In the featured interview, Dahron Johnson provides some historical context for the partnership between the LGBTQIA+ community and Vanderbilt and shares insights into their choice to withdraw its commitment to offering an openly supportive and transparent level of care that centered members of the Trans community when establishing policies regarding method of care, targeted research, and evolution of supportive programing.
Dahron concludes with suggestions about how we, in the greater community, can support our LGBTQIA+ family members, neighbors, church brethren, and others by advocating with Vandy (calls and letters) to reconcile with the trans community and begin to rebuild the bridge of trust they have shattered by their actions over the last few years.
Dahron also encouraged us to volunteer with those needing advocacy assistance when navigating the health care options currently available in Nashville. We are reminded that while the institution of Vanderbilt may have stepped away from its commitment, the actual health care providers within this institution are continuing to serve the members of the LGBTQIA+ community with professionalism and compassion, especially during this time of attempts to marginalize and denigrate. We will not let this be our legacy.
Instead, we resist, we persist, and we recommit to never giving up. And as the Equality Project reminds us, “Our Light Still Shines.” Michele
(NOTE: For more background on Dahron, you can refer to an interview I conducted with her on 11/17/24, just after the election, at my Substack article posted on 1/12/25).
