Acknowledgment from U.S. Department of State: Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, & Labor

I am honored to be featured in the U.S. Department of State: Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, & Labor series of Human Rights Stories #HumansforHumanRIghts and how my story relates to #HRR2020's Section 6 on discrimination. My hope is that people feel invited to continue world transformation for all Humans. This is why Reuniting of African Descendants.

As the work continues and each day I fight for justice for Trans people, I have experienced evaluation and recognition from space and organizations that I would have never imagined being uplifted by. Being lifted is not why I do this work, for I wish that this wasn't a battle that was forced upon Trans people. However, that being said, I appreciate receiving my flowers while I can still smell them.

During my an interview with the U.S Department of State staff, I was able to share authentically about my journey, my resilience, my inspiration, the need that is still required for Trans People globally, and how I am actively working hard to create better systems that center the lived experience and sustainability of Trans people.

Here are some of my words:

I grew up the daughter of migrants, surrounded by matriarchs.  We were always going through a lot.  But as my grandmother said, ‘There is always someone going through more.’  The doors of my home were always open to anyone in need.  We offered hot food, especially our Caribbean national dishes like ackee and saltfish.  That’s why I crown my grandmother as a celebrity for world transformation.  She sacrificed so much, but the legacy she has left...  Because of her, I am a mother to the motherless in my community.

I uplift so many women who have guided me to where I am.  I’ve been a cosmetologist and a fashion designer.  I was one of 13 who founded the Trans Women of Color Collective (TWOCC). Islan Nettles’s murder in Harlem woke me up because that could’ve been me.  I didn’t want to ever leave this world without feeling that I did something not just for her, but for the many women and girls like me who often don’t get looked at, or who are perceived as less than human.   

Now I work to prevent HIV transmission amongst trans women and talk to them about their visions and their life goals.  We also collaborate with grassroots organizations, meet with legislators to talk about the community and how we can create transformation together, and teach patients about the government structure.   

I attended a friend’s wedding in South Africa and wanted to connect to my lineage both in Africa and with other trans people around the world.  I’ve visited Africa every year since then except last year when I lost my father and this year with the pandemic.  In Uganda, it is illegal for someone to be gay or trans – they get arrested – and that is an injustice.  Our chains, our freedom, our liberation – it doesn’t happen until all of us are free.   A contact from Uganda reached out to me and let me know a shelter there were three months behind on rent and food and two months behind on HIV medication.  So I created a global mutual aid fund to assist trans women in Uganda, the DRC, and Kenya. 

“My goal is to create infrastructures and have an inter-continental, intergenerational conversation of how we can build together. Our chains, our freedom, our liberation – it doesn’t happen until all of us are free.”