Equality Arlington Unveils the Arlington Trans Youth Quilt at Community Celebration

Equality Arlington, an LGBTQ+ advocacy nonprofit serving Arlington, Virginia, unveiled the Arlington Trans Youth Quilt at a community celebration on April 8, 2026, at Arlington Central Library. The standing-room only event in the library’s auditorium, co-sponsored with Arlington Public Libraries, provided an opportunity for attendees to interact with the 10’ by 7.5’ quilt with 88 squares made by transgender and nonbinary young people in Arlington as well as allies. Speakers representing Equality Arlington, Arlington Public Schools, Arlington Public Libraries, ACLU-VA, and Congressman Don Beyer celebrated the bravery and joy stitched throughout the quilt and the young Arlingtonians represented by each square. Equality Arlington also screened a short video about the making of the quilt.

Kellen MacBeth, President of Equality Arlington, said “I am so incredibly proud of all of the young trans and nonbinary young people who gave up their time to share a little bit about who they are with the Arlington community through this quilt. Today’s unveiling event is an important step in giving voice to these young people but it is not the last step. We need to continue fighting to address the unacceptably high rates of poor mental health, sexual violence, and bullying that are plaguing trans, nonbinary, and many LGBTQ+ youth in Arlington Public Schools. Today is a happy day but it is also a call to action—we need to do more for our young people.”

Equality Arlington launched the Arlington Trans Youth Quilt Project in February 2026 and partnered with trans and nonbinary young people between the ages of 5 and 19 and their families to gather 54 squares made to answer: “What does Freedom to Be mean to Me?” The outer squares were made by allies and parents. The quilt harkens back to the legacy of the AIDS quilt of the 1980s and 1990s and seeks to tell the story of trans and nonbinary joy, bravery, and struggle using a medium familiar to the LGBTQ+ rights movement. Through the quilt, trans and nonbinary youth assert their right to celebrate their identity and their right to live openly as their true selves. While the AIDS quilt was a memorial to lost lives, this quilt is a celebration of joy and the rich diversity of our youth.

For more information about the Arlington Trans Youth Quilt, please visit www.equalityarlington.org/trans-youth-quilt.

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