Member-only story
Trans Communities Are Demonstrating Incredible Resilience
Through grassroots efforts, we’ve found abundance among ourselves
In late February, New Orleans hosted its annual Mardi Gras celebrations. As usual, there were vivid floats, crowds galore, and attendees adorned in green, purple, and yellow decorative beads. Community organizer Mariah Moore was one of those folks relishing in the experience, but little did she know that just a month later, those Crescent City streets would be all but deserted due to the novel coronavirus.
“A lot of our culture is just gone right now. We’re not able to do a lot of the things that bring us joy like our second lines and celebrating people’s lives,” she says. “It’s hard for everyone, but specifically for us because we thrive on that human contact.”
Since the clampdown of stay-at-home orders nationwide to address the global pandemic, Louisiana has become one of the hot spots for Covid-19. In fact, by early April, New Orleans had a per-capita death rate twice that of New York City. As soon as more information began trickling out about the disease, Moore sprang into action with other LGBTQ organizers to address the needs of the local residents.
Utilizing the LGBT Community Center of New Orleans for space, Moore and organizers launched a grab-and-go lunch initiative. They soon expanded their efforts to raise funds to address rent and phone bill expenses. Last week, they raised nearly $4,000 in 24 hours for the TGNC Peoples COVID Crisis Fund of Louisiana.
“A lot of our folks aren’t receiving any of the stimulus packages because they don’t qualify for unemployment or work traditional jobs. Many are sex workers or drag entertainers,” Moore says.
In New York, The Okra Project, a collective focused on alleviating food insecurity for Black TGNC people in the local area, took a similar approach to support local community members. Founder Ianne Fields Stewart shares that the threat of coronavirus has required multiple shifts from their more holistic strategy of funding Black trans chefs to cook in people’s homes. Initially, she held a pick-up operation at her home, but due to increasing social distancing guidelines, they began delivering food items in conjunction with Black Trans Travel Fund.
