The National Transsexual Counseling Unit (NTCU) was the first peer-run advocacy and counseling program for

transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

individuals. Founded in 1968, it was funded by the

Erickson Educational Foundation Reed Erickson (October 13, 1917 – January 3, 1992) was an American transgender man and philanthropist who, according to sociology specialist Aaron H. Devor, largely informed "almost every aspect of work being done in the 1960s and 1970s in th ...

. While previous efforts had been made to establish similar organizations, funding and support from the Erickson Educational Foundation helped the NTCU to enjoy significantly more success than previous organizations. The EEF hired Wendy Kohler, a patient of

Harry Benjamin Harry Benjamin (January 12, 1885 – August 24, 1986) was a German-American endocrinologist and sexologist, widely known for his clinical work with transgender people. Early life and career Benjamin was born in Berlin, and raised in a German ...

and a member of Conversion Our Goal (COG), a trans support group founded at

GLIDE Memorial Church Glide Memorial Church is a nondenominational church in San Francisco, California, which opened in 1930. Since the 1960s, it has served as a counter-culture rallying point, as one of the most prominently liberal churches in the United States. Lo ...

in 1967, to work as a research coordinator for

Elliott Blackstone Elliott R. Blackstone (November 30, 1924 – October 25, 2006) was a sergeant in the San Francisco Police Department, known as a longtime advocate for the lesbian, gay and transgender community in that city. Early life Born in Aurora, Illin ...

, the SFPD's LGBTQ+ community liaison officer. Kohler rented an office space and, with EEF funds, pay two full time peer counselors. These counselors provided street outreach, walk-in counseling, and answered mail from around the world. They would also frequently direct clients to the Center for Special Problems for additional support, such as identification cards that indicated transsexual status, and provided extensive referrals for services related to employment, mental health, legal problems, and more. The NCTU also sent peer counselors to give presentations to college classes, and wrote to newspapers and magazines to educate the public. Kohler also hosted a radio show for KQED twice a month, which broadcast live from Crown-Zellerbach Square. Kohler left in 1971. Suzan Cooke and Janice Maxwell joined the NTCU as peer counselors in 1971. In 1973, Leslie St. Clair and Wendy Davidson, who both worked with the Transgender Action Organization, were the center's co-directors. Blackstone managed the NTCU office as part of his role as community liaison. (He was not paid by the EEF.) His roles through the police department included community relations as well as training officers on interactions with the

LGBTQ+ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The group i ...

community. While Blackstone was directly involved with the LGBTQ+ community and seeking to improve their relations with the police department, many members of the SFPD still viewed transsexuals unfavorably and sought to undermine the work of these community organizations. In 1973, some of these reactionary members of the SFPD employed an informant to pose as an individual seeking a romantic relationship with Janice Maxwell. After a few weeks, he asked her to bring cocaine to work, where officers were waiting to arrest her and Cooke. Maxwell was convicted on drug charges and spent two years in jail; Cooke's attorney successfully had the charges against her dismissed. These officers also planted drugs in Blackstone's desk in an attempt to frame him and stop or impede his progressive work within the department. While Blackstone avoided criminal charges, he was reassigned to a foot patrol in a different district and no longer directly involved with the LGBTQ+ community. The organization survived for a bit longer, but due to Blackstone's departure and a discontinuation of funding from the EEF, the NTCU closed in 1974.

References

External links

Elliot Blackstone interview
by

Susan Stryker Susan O'Neal Stryker (born 1961) is an American professor, historian, author, filmmaker, and theorist whose work focuses on gender and human sexuality. She is a professor of Gender and Women's Studies, former director of the Institute for LGBT St ...

(1996) 1968 establishments in California LGBTQ history in San Francisco Transgender history in the United States {{LGBT-org-stub Transgender organizations in the United States Organizations established in 1968 Organizations disestablished in 1974