En español nan kreyòl ayisyen Ninaj Raoul is a co-founder and community organizer at Haitian Women for Haitian Refugees (HWHR) in New York, an organization founded in 1992 to respond to the human needs of Haitian refugees and immigrants in the U.S. fleeing persecution. Who are your people? My people are Haitian people, who are descendants from Africa. My ancestors were bought over as slaves from Western and Central Africa, successfully fought the colonialists to overcome enslavement, and fought to gain freedom for all people and are still fighting that fight. The fight is eternal and the stru ..read more

En español Morning Star Gali is a member of the Ajumawi band of the Pit River Tribe located in Northeastern California. She serves as Project Director for Restoring Justice for Indigenous Peoples (RJIP) and as the California Tribal and Community Liaison for the International Indian Treaty Council, working for the Sovereignty and Self Determination of Indigenous Peoples and the recognition and protection of Indigenous Rights, Treaties, Traditional Cultures and Sacred Lands. Who are your people? My people are a community of warriors, of folks that have resisted colonization, of folks that have r ..read more

En español In honor of Sexual Assault Advocacy Month, MEV program director Latishia James-Portis, known affectionately as Rev. Pleasure, has created an offering of guided affirmation meditations for survivors. Here she shares the “rooted flow” affirmation meditation. This meditation is a reminder to survivors that no matter what, they are always connected to the source of creation and to themselves; even when survival coping mechanisms like dissociation or cultural misconceptions try to keep us disconnected from our bodies and our communities, we are rooted ..read more

En español Mrs. Daroneshia Duncan-Boyd is an unapologetically Black, trans woman and Southerner and the Executive Director of TAKE Resource Center, a trans, people of color-led organization. Transgender Advocates Knowledgeable Empowering (TAKE) serves as an advocacy, support, direct service, and resource center for trans and non-binary communities in Birmingham, Alabama. Who are your people? My people are my family, my people are trans folks, my people are my support system, my people are sex workers, my people are people dealing with severe mental illness, people struggling with substance ab ..read more

Portrait by lizar_tistry In Spanish Evonné Kaho is the founder and CEO of the first Black transgender nonprofit in the state of Mississippi, Love Me Unlimited 4 Life, an interdisciplinary organization that offers resources, education, counseling and support to Mississippi’s LGBTQ community and those living with HIV. Who are your people? The Black trans, LGBTQIA, and Indigenous people in the state of Mississippi. What brings you to your work? The need of a voice that needs to be heard and seen, here in the state of Mississippi. I pretty much want to talk about Mississippi because people pretty ..read more

en español Black History/Black Futures Month is an opportunity to expand the ways we are honoring and celebrating Black leadership, wisdom, and joy. Here’s what we’re reading, watching, listening to, and learning. Please share with us what’s at the top of your list this month! (Most of the resources below are in English. If available in Spanish, it is noted.) Things we love featuring members of MEV Cohort 5 “The Future of Trans” Documentary produced by TransLash Media and Imara Jones Meridians: A Journey into Black Feminisms created by Black Feminist Future and Paris Hatcher “The intergenerat ..read more

Art by lizar_tistry En español and khmer Chhaya Chhoum and her family lived in refugee camps in Thailand and the Philippines before being resettled to the US. In 2012 she co-founded Mekong NYC, empowering Southeast Asians through arts, culture, community organizing, and advocacy. She is the executive director of Mekong NYC. Who are your people? My people are Southeast Asian, mostly Cambodian refugees who survived the genocide and also the war in Southeast Asia, mostly women and queer folks who have been leading this movement for a very long time. They come with a lot of art and culture in all ..read more

En español Paris Hatcher Art by lizar_tistry Paris is the founder and Director of Black Feminist Future, a national Black feminist organization that amplifies and builds the power of Black feminist leaders, organizations and movements. In this capacity, she also serves on the leadership team of the Movement for Black Lives. Who are your people? My people are Black people of the South, in particular, Black folks from North Carolina. My people have been in North Carolina from when we were stolen from Africa and brought here to the U.S. My people, they love the land. My people are educators. They ..read more

Art by lizar_tistry En español y garifuna Aneiry Simonnaeh Zapata was born in a small black-Garífuna community called “Sambo Creek” in Honduras. She is a transgender Black woman, a primary education teacher, a feminist, and a human rights activist, and specifically LGBTQIA+ rights. Who are your people? My community is everyone that the television does not see, my community is what is not on the radio, my community is those who do not have access to social media, the small, remote villages, the community that does not speak the languages we know, that does not speak English, that does not speak ..read more

En español Juniperangelica Gia Loving Art by lizar_tistry Juniperangelica Gia Loving is a queer, trans Latina, mother, and community organizer based in the Bay Area/Ohlone Land, originally from El Monte, CA/Tongva Land. She is an artist, strategist, scholar, designer, speaker, Libra, and lover. Juniperangelica is the Associate Director of Gender Justice Leadership Programs at GSA Network & Transgender Law Center. Who are your people? My people are people that I feel safe with. I very much find value in feeling safe and I’m very much connected to who I’m around. This changes easily when I’m ..read more