When the William Way Center left trans voices out of the Reminder 2015 celebration which marked the anniversary of the Dewey Lunch Counter Riots, community advocates took a stand. Annual Reminder Day protests (1965-69) demanded gender conformity from participants, transgender and gender non-conforming activists mobilized for sexual and gender self-determination, social transformation, and collective liberation, and it was time that the public history reflected our communities.

In response, five members of TOHP’s North East Collective co-curated Defiant Archives: Trans Histories of Existence, Resistence, and Brilliance, an exhibit showcasing the history of trans actvism in Philadelphia through a collection of archival and personal items curated and collected by the local community. over 100 Visitors watched a collection of TOHP interviews influential leaders who has started the Phillly Trans Health Conference in addition to a short documentary “Transpass,” which told the story of how Riders Against Gender Exclusion had won the fight to end SEPTA’s use of gendered stickers in 2013. The exhibit also invited participants to share their own histories on a timeline stretching from 1965 to 2015.

After exhibitin at the William Way LGBT Center (July-September 2015), Defiant Archives moved to Philadelphia City Hall, outside of the Mayor’s Office (October-December 2015).