Public service comes first for El Cerrito Police Chief Sylvia Moir, who recently received the East Bay Stonewall Democratic Club 30 Trailblazer Award.
The award is meant to “highlight the diversity of local individuals advocating for LGBT equality (and) who have fought for social justice and advanced our movement towards equality,” the Stonewall Democrats website says.
Moir is El Cerrito’s second ever and longest serving woman police chief. She is also a lesbian. She said she was honored to be a Trailblazer.
“My hope is it gives permission as young men and women who identify something other than 'the norm' that they can enter into any profession that they desire,” Moir said of the award.
Moir, who is more comfortable with giving than getting awards, said her Trailblazer status is “a reflection of a city manager, city council and a community where my lifestyle is not an issue."
"I think this is more of an award for them than it is for me,” she said.
I don't think Chief Moir has gone out of her way to describe her orientation; she focuses on her work and her community, and that is how we know her. But it is a grand thing, isn't it, that she can inspire others with her achievements? When I was growing up, I was told that women could not be firefighters or astronauts -- two of my interests. My family knew a lot of lawyers, but when I started law school, I had never met a woman lawyer. Things have changed a lot in my lifetime, but not enough that I can forget feeling like an outsider. A lot of LGBT people are rejected by their own families -- not every family is as able to embrace as yours. Young LGBT people often are vilified and taunted by their peers; they are at greater risk for assaults, depression, suicide. So, I cheer this award, and the encouragement it might bring to young people who worry they are too different to be accepted, and to achieve themselves.