Hagiography (Tribute to Activists for the Transgender Community) – Clarion Alley, Mission District, San Francisco, California

This mural by artist Tanya Wischerath on San Francisco’s on Clarion Alley honours four transgender women activists. The mural depicts the beatific images of the four activists clad in robes and golden halos depicted in jewel-like tones against a background of the night sky and stained glass – very reminiscent of the way that Catholic saints are depicted in church windows. From left to right the four women are:

· Tamara Ching: The award-winning "God Mother of Polk" well-known for her consultant work on transgender and commercial sex worker concerns.

· Janetta Louise-Johnson who works on recidivism in transgeneder communities of colour through her job at the Transgender Gender Varient Intersexed Justice Project.

· Alexis Rivera who fought HIV/AIDS – which affects one in three transwomen in San Francisco. She was the staff community advocate for the Transgender Law Center, and helped found LA’s Female-to-Male Alliance. Rivera died this in 2012.

· Mia Tu Mutch: A youth activist and panelist in the Guardian’s "SF Feminism Today" discussion that took place this summer. Tu Mutch is chair of the Housing LGBTQ and TAY committee of the San Francisco Youth Commission, and is a program assistant at Lavender Youth Recreation Information Center (LYRIC).

The artist inscribed this dedication on the wall beside her mural: "The Compton’s Cafeteria Riot occurred in August 1966 in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco. This incident was one of the first recorded transgender riots in United States history, preceding the more famous 1969 Stonewall Riots in New York City. Although San Francisco continues to lead in the struggle for equal rights for the LGBTQI community, trans women are often left behind and in the fight for visibility. This mural is a dedication to the work of just a few trans activists out of many who have tirelessly committed themselves to paving the way for a more just, accepting, and righteous San Francisco."