Transgender city worker dismayed by intolerance
The person who made history six years ago by becoming the first city employee to openly transition from male to female in the workplace has never found a burning cross outside her home.
The acts of bigotry and intolerance have been more subtle — but every bit as disheartening, said Camille Stephanie Hopkins.
Crude notes have been slipped under her office door. She hears giggles — sometimes sarcastic whistles — as she walks the halls. When elevator doors open, friendly chatter often turns into an icy hush.
“It hurts, because in some people’s eyes, I’m a freak,” she said.
Compounding her pain is Hopkins’ belief that the city has contributed to what she calls a climate of intolerance. City leaders have failed to provide enough sensitivity training and taken a dismissive attitude when she has raised concerns, Hopkins claimed. She was
even brought up on departmental charges for wearing a T-shirt that sported the phrase “fagbug,” a word the gay community considers a statement against hate crimes and homophobia.
“The city has allowed people to embrace their fears,” she said.
That’s why Hopkins has decided to call it quits. At the end of the month, she will end a City Hall career that began 21 years ago when Gregory Hopkins became a human resource planner.
She’s not just leaving her job. She’s moving to another state.
“It’s a lonely existence,” Hopkins lamented. “Buffalo is about 20 years behind in [transgendered] rights.”
Mayor Byron W. Brown and Community Services Commissioner Tanya Perrin-Johnson — Hopkins’ boss — both dispute Hopkins’ claims.
“We set the tone around here that discrimination in any form will not be tolerated,” Brown said. “We respected the diversity of this community, and we have reflected that diversity in how our government is being managed.”
Make no mistake, Hopkins said, she loves the city and believes some strides have been made. She cites a 2002 decision by city officials to extend antidiscrimination protection to transsexuals and others who seek the freedom of gender expression.
More recently, the city approved a contract in June with white-collar employees that — for the first time — extends health insurance benefits to domestic partners. Hopkins calls it a step forward but said she thinks the policy should be proclaimed a standard benefit for all city employees.
And she claims the glacial progress has occurred in a community that remains stuck in a “Midwest mentality.”
“Working in a conservative town with conservative politics makes one very weary,” she said. “It comes down to quality of life. Do I want to live in a place where I have to constantly fight for my rights?”
Hopkins, a 58-year-old Brooklyn native, has decided to move to Portland, Oregon, where she lived for two years in the 1980s. People are surprised when they learn that Portland is a relatively progressive city, said Hopkins. In fact, Portland recently elected its first openly gay mayor. She plans to go to graduate school in hopes of teaching political science, sociology and discrimination law at the college level.
A leader in the local gay and lesbian community said Hopkins’ exodus will be a major loss. But Carol D. Speser, a founder of the Stonewall Democrats group, said she understands why her friend has decided to leave.
“It’s exhausting to be working for change and not really see anything happen,” said Speser. “It takes the wind out of your sails to work hard and try to make things better.”
Speser made it clear that it’s not just a “City Hall problem.” The fourth-generation Buffalonian said she thinks the region has a pathological fear of “new things.” As a result, she said, she thinks many people continue to ostracize gays and lesbians, despite the fact that the community has made significant contributions to the region and has been well-established for many decades.
“We didn’t just come out of some trap door of a discotheque in the ’70s,” she said.
Hopkins said staging high-profile annual parades and posting flags that signal support for gay rights are nice gestures, but she doesn’t feel the region has made nearly as much progress in cultivating acceptance as many other regions have. And she claims the climate in City Hall is no exception.
Hopkins alleges that her concerns have fallen on deaf ears and that city leaders’ inaction has fostered intolerance.
Perrin-Johnson, the community services commissioner, denied that city officials ignored Hopkins’ concerns or targeted her for disciplinary action. When someone slipped a crude note under Hopkins’ office door, Perrin-Johnson said, an investigation was launched. The culprit couldn’t be found, she said, but Hopkins’ office was moved to a floor that was more secure.
Meanwhile, the commissioner was unapologetic for filing disciplinary charges against Hopkins for wearing a T-shirt that read “I love fagbug,” charges that are still pending. Perrin- Johnson said her department works extensively with young people and other members of the public.
“We’re trying to establish a message of professionalism,” she said.
Perrin-Johnson also disputed Hopkins’ claim that the city has not provided sensitivity training. A nationally known expert from Michigan was brought in a year-and-a-half ago and held sessions for 600 city employees.
The city’s chief advocate against bigotry and prejudice said the city must continue to offer diversity training.
“But it’s hard to overcome individuals’ ignorance,” said Crystal J. Rodriguez, executive director of Buffalo’s Commission on Citizens’ Rights and Community Relations. “Sometimes, no amount of training can change that.”
