Two Sides of the Same Coin: Joy and Resistance from our Executive Director, Jaelynn Scott
Happy Fall,
There has been a movement in the Black trans community for the last few years centered in joy. As Black people, we have always led with joy, and it is our humor that we often use for survival & community building. What is interesting in this movement is the idea of organizing around, resisting, and building movements of joy. Personally, I’ve been struggling to frame our work in joy. We think it is important to be clear about the struggles facing our community while not contributing to both the cisgender gaze and the consumption of trauma porn.
I’ve been thinking about my grandmother a lot recently. And though I hesitate to share stories of my family to a general audience of folx, I hope that people will read this without reframing Black stories as cliches about Black suffering and joy. My grandmother was a sharecropper in Mississippi. She was married off at a young age and worked as a maid for wealthy white people in her older age—all while facing discrimination, intimate partner violence, and not much money. My grandmother lived hard, was fierce when she needed to be, and was passionate in her advocacy for both her family and community. Ma Blanche was also hilarious. She had a huge personality and brought both laughter & joy to any room she was in. When I think about her, I remember the warmth of her hugs and her grandmotherly smell. Just the thought of her warmth and smell of her now brings joy and brightness to me.
LRP Staff posing for a photo together while in the Bay Area
I often talk about holding joy and resistance together like two sides of the same coin, and this is exactly what I mean. Let me be clear: my grandmother’s struggle did not bring her joy; she was not “better” because of the horrors of Jim Crow Mississippi. But her joy was innate as a Black woman and, like she would say, “the world didn’t give it to her and the world cant take it away.” It is my grandmother’s innate joy that I see in all of our staff and that I experience at work. Our team is a group of amazing people who are full of joy while fighting fiercely for our liberation. The story that we don’t tell enough in our organization is the creative and joyful power of our majority Black and trans staff. Even though it is difficult and we bring our trauma with us, it is the most empowering and joyful work that I’ve experienced.
Lavender Rights Project is the only Black trans-led organization with our staff composition in Washington State, and one of a handful throughout the United States. The leadership development and support of our staff alone deserves community support with robust funding. However, for those of us who are Black trans femmes, we are not content with just existing. We have wrathful divine feminine energy in our being. Our staff fights hard for our community—not because we think we have to, but because compassionate action is part of being Black. We hold joy and resistance together, like two sides of a coin.
Please join us in celebrating Black trans joy this fall.
Aria Sa'id, Executive Director of the Transgender District, and Jaelynn Scott, Executive Director of Lavender Rights Project, posing on Market Street in San Francisco, CA
Our work meeting the seasons with Black Trans Joy
Our Fall Joy began with a rest and renewal retreat in the San Francisco Bay Area, where we had the opportunity to collaborate with Black Trans community members and organizations. It was refreshing to be surrounded by more community and find like-minded collectives doing similar work as ours. The Pacific Northwest can feel very isolating as Black gender diverse people. We learned from our new families that centering joy was critical to our continued sustainability in this work. Lavender Rights Project welcomes continued relationships with all of you allies and community members. Now more than ever, we need your encouragement, love, attention, and continued support.
Programming Updates
A social media flyer promoting LRP’s legal services for Black communities.
Late spring, Lavender Rights Project launched our new Criminal Legal Services for the Black community. We are now providing wraparound legal support and care for Black gender diverse and LGBTQ+ people alike with an eye towards policy change. Our team understands that individual representation won’t get us to liberation, and each case we take on is informing how we organize for our community. Please help us spread the word that we are offering criminal legal services and follow us on social media to learn about our calls to action.
We are also proud that our minimum basic income program for Black trans people is continuing to build momentum as we push for city, county, and statewide minimum basic income programs for BIPOC gender diverse people across Washington. It’s not exactly a secret that at least 38% of Black Trans people live in poverty in the U.S. The city of Denver recently launched a guaranteed basic income program for people experiencing homelessness in their city, which follows city-funded guaranteed basic income programs specifically for transgender people living in poverty in San Francisco and Palm Springs. Lavender Rights Project believes in basic income programs as a preventative tool to keep transgender people safe, homed, and healthy. We will continue to encourage our elected officials to match the commitment of other West Coast cities. Provide a guaranteed basic income to Black trans communities in the City of Seattle, King County, and Washington State!
Finally, LRP is close to securing our housing facility and hope to have a big announcement for our community soon. As with our other programming, our work on “The House” is informing our future policy goals and we are in continued conversations with King County about what it looks like to prioritize trans-competent housing and shelter services for trans people, and especially Black trans community members.
Being in Community With Us
Please join our social media, send us a note and say hello, and consider donating or raising your donation this fall. Your regular monthly contributions ensure our ability to continue this and other work while strategically planning for larger social action. We appreciate you, and thank you for your care for our organization and for those we serve.
Warmly,
Jaelynn Scott
Executive Director