WOODSTOCK, Ill. - In the wake of Caitlyn Jenner’s high-profile coming out and acceptance speech at the ESPY Awards, as well as transgender feature stories in major national media outlets such as the New York Times and PBS Frontline, trans people are experiencing an unprecedented moment of visibility.
Just because the attention is new, however, it does not mean trans people haven’t always been there. Even in McHenry County.
“I grew up in Woodstock off of North Street by the old Woodstock Dye Cast, which is now gone and it’s townhomes over there. I lived two blocks away from the Square. I could see the train station from my bedroom,” Crystal Ann Gray said.
Ms. Gray graduated from Woodstock High School in 1990. After a traumatizing youth that saw people like her bullied, stigmatized and treated as mentally ill, she moved away to pursue a better life.
“There were no GLBT services back in 1990. There was still the idea of sending someone to a counselor to do some reparative therapy,” Ms. Gray said.
Ms. Gray eventually began to miss the charms of McHenry County. After years of living in several parts of the country, she returned home in 2010.
“Once I got away from it, I missed it, and wanted to get back to it,” Ms. Gray said.
The county eventually began to modify its attitude toward people like Ms. Gray, as well. Now Ms. Gray is happy to again call McHenry County home.
“This county has blown up so much, especially in the southern part. The population has really grown. But along with that, so has tolerance. So has acceptance. So has visibility,” Ms. Gray said.
When she returned, she brought her wife, Shari Miller. A native of Pennsylvania, Shari - who also is transgender - said she hasn’t been in her birth state since around 1965. Since then, she’s lived In New York, Washington, Los Angeles and even Guadalajara, Mexico. But she said she’s happiest in McHenry County.
“Big cities are nice, but living in a nice county like this, I love it,” Ms. Miller said. “I’ve met a lot of really nice people who are really down-to-earth, nice, good people. You go to the Wonder Lake parade, the Crystal Lake parade, you’re seeing a small piece of Americana.”
Since settling in McHenry County, Ms. Gray and Ms. Miller have started United States Transgender Advocacy, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting and assisting the transgender community. Since its founding, the group has worked closely with the Justice Department in places as far away as Puerto Rico and Alaska to prevent hate crimes. Ms. Gray and Ms. Miller estimate their work has saved hundreds of lives.
“We know things that go on that most people don’t as far as hate crime,” Ms. Gray said.
They also worked closer to home on issues with lower stakes, but that are just as important. In 2013, after being named one the Northwest Herald’s Everyday Heroes, Ms. Gray said she was contacted by then-McHenry County Undersheriff Andrew Zinke to set up training sessions for dealing with transgender individuals during traffic stops, during arrests, in jail and in domestic disputes.
Sixty officers and deputies from local law enforcement agencies attended the sessions over two days. Ms. Gray said she has heard from Crystal Lake police on at least three occasions about situations involving trans persons being handled appropriately because of the training, and that, overall, the sessions have had an incredibly positive impact on the community.
“Sometimes, I’m almost in tears over how proud I am of the law enforcement officers in McHenry County,” she said.
The only backlash they’ve ever received was when they lobbied the school district in East Aurora to change its policies on transgender students. Ms. Gray and Ms. Miller said they received anonymous threats scary enough to warrant police protection, although nothing ever happened.
No matter how dangerous a situation appears, Ms. Gray and Ms. Miller said they are willing to take it on from their home base in McHenry County. They also welcome the opportunity to live peaceful, welcoming lives here.
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