City of Minneapolis, MN The Division of Race & Equity, 3 Feb 2020

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From YouTube: Stonewall Oral History – Roundtable

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Roundtable with Adja Gildersleve

A

Hello, my black and brown people, so we're gonna get into a conversation. Where are you existing in this space of Minnesota, the Twin Cities? It is 50 years of Stonewall, yes, but us SPOC identified trans and GNC folks. How do you think we're existing as a people today, I? Don't.

B

Think we're too far from where Stonewall was really we've made some progress.

A

So more well, I feel.

B

Like you know, there's still some of the same economic and housing and job discrimination that existed then I feel like our people are vital. They're important we're important and I fill us coming together and then, knowing that we still have a lot of work to go a lot of places to cover and a lot of people to make sure aren't left out. There's.

C

Still a running gag or the running wheel, teeth that like we have to be conduits for change because we're making them of change like in the sense of paper. This is the bag. People still like to exploit us make us the trendsetters, but not pay us like. We are make us the case study but not pay. Us like we are put us on the poster, but not pay us like we on the poster. You know so.

D

I stole all 50 years ago, I, don't think, must just changed. I feel like this is really changing. It's like, like almost like we've gone back 50 years ago. You know I feel like because really, how much have we improved? You know, especially for black. You know, brown trans communities. You know I mean it's tiring to make this fight to prove ourselves and that we need some help we need to and through our city, but we get.

E

Rebuffed we get ignored I. Think I was an adult before I realized that a trans woman could be anything out of the other than a porn star and I didn't hear about I didn't hear about Stonewall until I was an adult I had to do that, my own, studying to even figure out that that we were the ones that started the movement in the first place. I don't feel like we've traveled too far at all the.

F

One thing that I will say that makes our city special and very different than anywhere else in the world is that this is the only place we're not only one, but two black trans people are elected to office in one city, there is nowhere else in the country or the world where you have more than one trans person on an elected legislative body, and we have two black queer trans people on one legislative body of 13, and so what that means is that Andrea and I are changing.

F

The kind of conversations are happening within city government city of Minneapolis, and so so, like the struggle is still there, but I try every single day to never take for granted the fact that I'm in a position of power and privilege, and that it is my responsibility to do work there I think.

G

To build we have to for one, it starts internally, like being the change that you want to see on your own. There is oppression, that's coming us from all angles, and we deal with that in different ways and we have to. We have to come together and just support each other and love on each other.