Sarah McBride to be first openly transgender state senator in U.S. history

Sarah McBride is set to become the first openly transgender state senator in U.S. history. This is her story.

Transcript

00:00My name is Sarah McBride and I am a proud transgender American.

00:16We will demonstrate that our momentum is more powerful than any single president and any

00:20prejudice, that we will continue to move equality forward no matter the challenges we face.

00:30Some of my earliest memories are of lying in bed at night praying that I would wake

00:34up the next day and be myself, that my family would still be proud of me and that I could

00:40still dream big dreams.

00:42But by my junior year in college, that pain had become too much.

00:55They were shocked, but more than anything else, they were scared.

00:59They were scared of rejection, they were scared of discrimination, they were scared

01:02of violence.

01:03Though at the same time, despite how scared they were, they also understood that their

01:07role as parents was to love me and support me.

01:29One of the things that has been so important for our family throughout this journey is

01:44that we have felt it's important to share our story.

01:47We understand that it becomes much more difficult to hate someone or fear someone whose story

01:52you know.

01:53And so throughout this process, we've been willing to share our stories publicly.

01:59She courageously stood before the General Assembly to describe her personal struggles

02:17with gender identity and communicate her desire to return home to Delaware after graduating

02:26from college without fear.

02:40Will we be a nation where there's only one way to love, only one way to look, and only

02:45one way to live?

02:46Or will we be a nation where everyone has the freedom to live openly and equally?

02:56I am completely convinced that through all of these challenges, we will demonstrate what

03:15we have demonstrated from Stonewall to the steps of the Supreme Court.

03:19We will demonstrate that our momentum is more powerful than any single president and any

03:23prejudice, that we will continue to move equality forward no matter the challenges

03:27we face, and that we will build a world where our understanding of we the people finally

03:32includes every single one of us.