As you probably know by now, every month, we donate a percentage of our profits to charity, spotlight the voices of influencers, and remain committed to sharing essential messages related to the LGBTQ+ community. Why? Because amid all the violence, hatred, and inequality in the world today, we are here to amplify the voices of all marginalized individuals. In honor of Women’s History Month, we donated a percentage of our profits to the amazing Trans Women of Color Collective, or TWOCC. TWOCC is an organization that cultivates economic opportunities and affirms spaces for trans people of color and their families. They foster kinship, build communities, and engage in healing and restorative justice through arts, culture, media, advocacy and activism. Want to know more about what they do? We got you!
Unfortunately, transgender and gender non-conforming people of color face some of the highest levels of discrimination of all transgender people. According to a study reported by the National LGBTQ+ Task Force, black transgender people had an intensely high unemployment rate of 26%, two times the rate of the overall transgender sample and four times the rate of the general population. This needs to change, and the Trans Women of Color Collective knows this.
As TWOCC explains in their website, there is a critical need for trans youth of color led initiatives that cultivate affirming spaces for transgender communities to engage in healing and restorative justice. TWOCC leans in with an intentional response to the trauma the transgender community has endured by leading with the voices and leadership of our youth. They seek to shift the narrative of surviving to thriving in transgender communities.
Through their projects, they build economic empowerment and global networks that connect rural communities with suburban enclaves, inner city youth with elders, donors with black trans entrepreneurs, healers with those seeking to be whole and collaborators with agitators. TWOCC projects include the Black Trans Health Initiative, Education, Survival, and Wellness Funds, Healing and Restorative Justice Initiative (HRJI), and more. Their work elevates those in the community who have had their voices stolen, usurped, commodified, silenced and exploited by cis gaze, colonization, anti-blackness, imperialism and transphobia.
Discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community is unfortunately not something new. However, that doesn’t mean we should stop fighting for equality. It’s organizations like the Trans Women of Color Collective that truly make a difference. Pride Palace is beyond happy and grateful for the opportunity to be able to donate and help this organization make a difference. If you would also like to donate to this amazing organization, do it here!
Written by Paloma Pinto
Comments
So happy to see this! 🙌 Keep up the great work Pride Palace