Transgender people are playing unprecedented roles in this year’s Democratic National Convention this year with a record 27 transgender delegates planning to attend, and Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, serving on the party’s platform committee.

by Erin Rook

(LGBTQ Nation) - The Republicans may have had their first speaker address being gay from the podium at last week’s convention, but the Democratic National Convention is making LGBTQ history of its own.

“Hillary Clinton won’t be the only woman to make history this Thursday. When Sarah McBride takes the stage, she will become the first transgender person to speak at a national Democratic or Republican convention,” explained Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin, who will also address the crowd that evening. “Sarah’s inclusion in Thursday’s program is a significant milestone for our community, and it sends a strong message that transgender people and their voices matter.”

McBride is national press secretary for the Human Rights Campaign Foundation and a member of the steering committee for in a statement. “People must understand that even as we face daily harassment, tragic violence, and an onslaught of anti-LGBTQ political attacks across the country, we are real people merely seeking to be treated with the dignity and respect every person deserves.”

Transgender people are playing unprecedented roles in this year’s Democratic National Convention this year with a record