November 20, 2020
An Update from Chedy: Transgender Day of Remembrance
To Our TCGplayer Community,
Today TCGplayer participated in a moment of silence to recognize the Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) and encouraged our employees to participate in the virtual vigil hosted by PFLAG in the evening. In observance of TDOR, we honor the memory of the transgender people whose lives were taken because of violence, self-harm, and illness. We mourn with our transgender friends and recommit ourselves to advocating for the transgender community and equality for all.
I am proud of the ways in which our company came together to raise the visibility of transgender people and celebrate the greater LGBTQIA2S+ community.
I am also proud to announce that we unveiled our redesigned wizard room (see below for original announcement) in tandem with the TDOR. The wizard room now features art from one of our TCGplayer employees depicting Hogwarts with the colors of the Transgender Pride flag as the sky, celebrating the transgender community. Our certificate of donation to the Trevor Project also proudly stands on top of a Progress Pride flag in our street facing window at headquarters. We’re planning to incorporate more art by transgender artists that celebrate our inclusivity and love for the power of storytelling.
See below for a few images of the redesign.
To learn more about TDOR and how to get involved, please visit the following resources: PFLAG; GLAAD.
Sincerely,
Chedy
October 20, 2020
To Our TCGplayer Community:
Over the summer, J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series, made a series of transphobic comments that generated significant attention.
Like many of you, I grew up admiring the Harry Potter series. It inspired our core values of acceptance and love for others – no matter one’s differences – and the design of our wizard room at TCGplayer headquarters. However, J.K. Rowling’s comments have left many of us – including myself – confused, angry and troubled as we grapple with reconciling our admiration of the series with our commitment to the LGBTQIA2S+ community.
Street view of the ‘wizard theme room’ at TCGplayer Headquarters that celebrates the spirit of Harry Potter.
As a company, we are guided by our commitment to a ‘Community for All.’ We embrace diversity, respect the thoughts and beliefs of others and listen with open hearts. TCGplayers know that acceptance is at the center of our culture and being open-minded is the Key to Our Magic.
In typical TCGplayer fashion, upon learning of these comments, I went on ‘A Quest for Knowledge.’ I had conversations with our transgender colleagues and friends to better understand how they were feeling and solicited input on what TCGplayer could and should do about it.
As I recently shared with the TCGplayer team, our company believes that “…trans women are women, trans men are men, non-binary people are non-binary, and affirming and respecting people’s gender is kind, loving, and literally saves lives. (The Harry Potter Alliance)” This is simply an extension of our corporate beliefs. Additionally, at our company, the author of the Harry Potter series is now exclusively referred to as “She who must not be named.”
So, what are we doing about it?
First, we are donating $10,000 to The Trevor Project. For those who are not familiar, The Trevor Project is the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBTQ youth; and, is an organization that Daniel Radcliffe – our real life Harry Potter - supports. To make this donation authentically TCGplayer, we made it on behalf of Harry Potter.
Second, we are redesigning our wizard room at TCGplayer headquarters to make clear that TCGplayer openly and proudly supports the transgender community. The room redesign will still celebrate the spirit of the Harry Potter series while honoring the LGBTQIA2S+ community. To give you a sense of what the changes will look like, we will replace one or more of the digital monitors that display a “wizard of TCGplayer” with art and symbolism that celebrates the transgender community and blends perfectly into the unique theme of the room. Additionally, the transgender flag and our certificate of donation to The Trevor Project will be displayed in the street facing window for all passersby to see.
Third, we will use the wizard room to promote different supporting initiatives on an ongoing basis. For example, we will commission and/or purchase wizard-themed art from artists who are openly transgender or non-binary to feature throughout the room. And, we’ll kick things off just in time for the Transgender Day of Remembrance on November 20th! (Don’t worry – pictures will follow soon!)
I hope our entire TCGplayer community joins me in showing support for the LGBTQIA2S+ community, our friends and our colleagues. I promise to keep you all updated on our wizard room redesign as it is completed.
In solidarity and support,
Chedy