Peter Tchoryk

This week thousands of children, parents, teachers and allies will gather in schools, libraries and community centers across the country for the fourth annual Jazz and Friends National Day of Reading. What began when hundreds of caring residents in Mount Horeb, Wisc. showed up at a public reading of a trans-inclusive children’s book to support a six-year-old and her family, has become a nationwide phenomenon — and a testament to the power of storytelling to advance love and acceptance.

Since that first public "I Am Jazz" event, our family has worked to bring these readings to our small town of Dexter, in support of our son Jacq Kai, who is also transgender. We know personally the power of this groundbreaking children’s book, in which transgender advocate Jazz Jennings chronicles her journey of discovery, because its portrayal of what it means to be transgender helped validate my son’s own experience.

Jacq Kai is 10-years-old. He loves football, wrestling and science, and one day dreams of being an inventor. He’s happy, but it’s taken time for him and our family to get to this point. Before coming out, Jacq Kai was in despair, the kind that causes mental health problems and leads to shockingly high rates of suicide within the transgender and gender-diverse community.

Our family had to come to terms with this reality: affirming Jacq Kai’s transgender identity was literally a matter of life and death. But once we took that step, it was like turning on a light switch: my son went from despair to being a happy kid who was excited about new experiences. Although naturally shy, he even summoned the courage to share his own story with his second grade class.

We are fortunate to have educators like Dexter elementary school principal Craig McCalla, who took the time to learn about transgender youth and now encourages others to discover the basic truths about this widely misunderstood community. He shares his experience that kids can be taught about gender identity in a developmentally-appropriate way at all grade levels.

We don’t have to guess how this will turn out, because Craig and educators around the country have shown how an elementary school can be safe and supportive for transgender children and every child. We are also fortunate that professional organizations representing educators, pediatricians, psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers provide best practices to give our transgender and gender-diverse kids the best chance to survive and thrive in this world.

Jazz’s story initiated meaningful conversations for our son and family and we saw what a powerful educational tool storytelling could be. If we don’t share our very human experiences and struggles, it leads to misrepresentation, and that can foster fear, anger and even violence. But every year during the Jazz and Friends National Day of Reading, and every time Jacq Kai bravely lets the world know who he is, we’re taking small but important steps to change the narrative around transgender people, and transgender young people like my son.

In our own community, we witnessed firsthand how kids can be empowered when people from all walks of life came together to produce a video reading of "I Am Jazz." But as powerful as the Jazz and Friends readings have become, they are still once-a-year events. We need to do more, to build on the message of love and hope that the day embodies. Here in Dexter and throughout Michigan, community workshops are being held year-round to do just that, while celebrating the diverse stories and families that exist right in our small towns.

As we approach this year’s Jazz and Friends National Day of Reading, sponsored by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, on Thursday, I encourage you to take a step toward understanding and embracing transgender people, including young people, who are part of your community — whether a neighbor, a work colleague, a fellow member of your faith community, or even someone you haven’t yet met. Whether it’s writing about the day of reading in your local paper, appealing to your superintendents to provide inclusive lessons and resources around diverse identities, or telling your school friends who you truly are, we each have the opportunity to engage in meaningful discussions, and to tell more stories across our human-created divides.

Not only does the ability to learn from others’ experiences make us better people, it can be the difference for an LGBTQ young person who is trying to live authentically. It can be the difference between life and death.

I’m proud to champion a Jazz and Friends reading in Dexter, because I believe in its impact – I see it every day when I look at my son. That is the power of storytelling.

Peter Tchoryk and his wife, Sarah, live in Dexter, MI. They have two daughters, a son, who happens to be transgender, and three grandkids.