DALLAS — The City of Dallas will be celebrating International Transgender Day of Visibility by lighting up the downtown skyline.
On Thursday night, the city said the Bank of America Plaza, AT&T Discovery District and the Omni Hotel will display the colors blue, white and pink -- the colors of the transgender flag.
Reunion Tower will remain lit up in yellow and blue in honor of the Ukrainian flag, as it has since the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The day of recognition occurs annually on March 31 and celebrates transgender persons while also raising awareness of the discrimination that the community continues to face.
"The City of Dallas is committed to supporting and protecting our transgender community," the city said in a statement.
President Joe Biden this week also issued a proclamation recognizing March 31 as Transgender Day of Visibility. In it, the president mentioned how transgender, nonbinary and gender nonconforming Americans are "breaking glass ceilings of representation" and are succeeding in various industries like entertainment and medicine.
Biden, however, wrote that there's still work that needs to be done.
"Despite this progress, transgender Americans continue to face discrimination, harassment, and barriers to opportunity," Biden said. "Transgender women and girls — especially transgender women and girls of color — continue to face epidemic levels of violence, and 2021 marked the deadliest year on record for transgender Americans."
Transgender children and their families in Texas have recently been the target of investigations urged by Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Both elected officials asked the state Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) to investigate parents of transgender children and to identify certain gender-affirming care as child abuse. Abbott had even issued a directive to the DFPS to begin investigations.
In late February, Paxton released an opinion that referred to puberty blockers and medical procedures meant to change a child's sex as child abuse under the Texas Family Code.
Earlier this month, a Travis County judge blocked Abbott's directive regarding investigations by the state family department, and ruled a temporary injunction in place.
Paxton has since asked the Texas Supreme Court to allow investigations into families of transgender children.
