By Randi Robertson. This article originally appeared on the SAGE blog.

Photo credit: CQ Roll Call

Overjoyed doesn’t really cover it! On June 15, 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States of America affirmed that I, a retired USAF Officer/Pilot who voluntarily served 22 years to protect and defend the constitution, who happens to be transgender, is actually protected from work place discrimination under Title VII of the civil rights act.

The past several years have been like walking through a dark tunnel as the current White House and Administration has systematically tried to erase transgender people like myself. The most recent actions to erase protections for LGBTQI people in the arena of healthcare treatment, by changing Affordable Care Act (ACA), Health and Human Services Regulation, and policy directives on civil rights protects so they do not cover LGBTQI people, is just the latest dark move. With this Title VII decision, SCOTUS has opened a ray of brilliant light, a ray of hope to me, the broader transgender community, and the LGBTQI community at large, that we belong as Americans, and at least in employment, we are entitled to equal protection under the laws of the United States!

I am celebrating and rejoicing, but only for a short while, as much work is left to be done in the civil liberties arena. Racial justice and equality, social justice and equality for LGBTQI, and social justice for other marginalized communities, must be sought after! We must soak up the ray of light, be enriched and empowered to continue the fight!

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Diverse Elders Coalition.