MTPC’s Statement Regarding MA Rep. Seth Moulton

Friday, November 15, 2024

In the days following the election, we at MTPC initially set out to share a message of hope, solidarity, and commitment to you—our trans and nonbinary community members, as well as our ardent advocates and supporters—that we will not be set back. We will keep our eyes on the prize of building a safer and more equitable future.

All this remains true. 

But we are compelled to address the dangerous and inflammatory anti-trans remarks of the recently reelected U.S. Representative Seth Moulton. Although others have called him in to discuss these harmful statements about transgender people, particularly athletes, he doubled down on them instead of listening to his transgender and nonbinary constituents. To add insult to injury. Rep. Moulton represents the Massachusetts 6th Congressional District, where one of his transgender constituents—a 16-year-old at that—was violently attacked in Gloucester by his peers and faced further ridicule and threats in the days and weeks following this attack.

To Rep. Seth Moulton: Shame on you! How dare you betray and abandon those who are among the most vulnerable of your constituents. How dare you turn your back on your constituents who are outside your office telling you that you missed the mark immediately after securing your reelection and decry them as the problem. Many who tout these anti-trans-athlete positions believe themselves enlightened and objective, that they are not anti-trans, but pro-fairness. When in reality, they are either being unwittingly used by violent anti-trans ideologues, or they are themselves more insidious actors than meets the eye.

These attacks on trans athletes in schools are a wedge tactic. They seek to find the weakest points in the safety and acceptance of transgender people so that they may break apart everything that we have achieved and deter our progress toward equity for all trans and nonbinary people. These methods have been particularly damaging to trans children and youth. To attack and belittle young people who are trying so hard to be themselves says magnitudes about your character. We wish you good luck because we are not going anywhere. We will stand our ground and we will overcome your short-sighted bigotry, hatred, and scapegoating.

To the people of the MA 6th District: While you may likely feel that you are being misrepresented by Rep. Moulton, know that MTPC and our partners, allies, and supporters are with you. We will represent you and advocate for you in every way that we can. Do not hesitate to reach out to us if you have concerns or questions, or want to get involved. We can do this together.

To the Democratic Party of Massachusetts: We demand that you make this right. It is time to call in your own and make it known that he has strayed too far from your platform. In 2021, your party set out its platform, which included these two key positions:

  • “The protection of the rights of LGBTQ+ youth athletes, particularly transgender and nonbinary athletes, to afford them the full rights, access, and privileges their cisgender counterparts have in youth athletics.”
  • “The protection and affirmation of the rights of transgender people and ensuring their safety, particularly that of trans youth.”

(https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RZf7sCpTmuvgP4CkEuxdvhAUDxebRBML/view?usp=sharing, taken from: https://www.massdems.org/our-platform)

To the allies and supporters of MTPC and transgender and nonbinary people in Massachusetts and everywhere: We need you more now than we have in a long time. It is time for you to stand up and loudly and proudly show your support, love, and compassion for transgender and nonbinary people. Do it for us. Show the trans people in your lives and around you that you will support them, that you will not settle for anything less than justice and equity, and that you believe in a future for them—one that is inclusive and affirming. Do it for those who would seek to silence, shame, and eradicate trans and nonbinary people. Let them know they are the ones who are on the wrong side of history. It is time for all of us to take action, to let bullies like Rep. Moulton know that they are not championing progress, but hatred and cowardice.

And, as you are able, we also need you to put your money where your heart is. It can be challenging to manage and fund a values-driven, liberation-focused nonprofit. Your donations not only make it possible for us to continue showing up against threats like this, but they also allow us to keep building toward that new future where trans and nonbinary people are valued and celebrated and can fully participate and thrive in all areas of society. Your support means so much to us. We truly cannot do this without you!

In solidarity, love, and trans power,
The Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition

For press and media inquiries: deputy@masstpc.org or leave a message at 857-891-4106.
To get involved with MTPC: https://www.masstpc.org/get-involved/
To make a donation to MTPC: https://www.masstpc.org/donate/

Download a printable / shareable PDF copy of this statement here.

Regardless of how it has come across, MTPC has been quiet, perhaps too quiet, in regards to the genocidal atrocities being perpetrated in Palestine. We also acknowledge that there are other active genocides being perpetrated in Congo, Sudan, Haiti, Amhara, Tigray, and Artsakh along with countless other acts of colonial violence and oppression happening daily throughout the world including the United States. In line with our organization’s values, vision, and political analysis, we stand in solidarity with all oppressed peoples and believe that a liberated future for transgender and nonbinary people is a future in which all people are liberated from disparity, oppression, and violence. While we currently work within the nonprofit industrial complex (NPIC), these deeply-held values and vision are entirely unaligned with the NPIC and it is our first endeavor to always live up to these values.

We believe firmly in the words of our revolutionary trans forebear Leslie Feinberg who in 2002 said: “I do not believe that our sexuality, gender expression, and bodies can be liberated without making a ferocious mobilization against imperialist war and racism an integral part of our struggle. The degree to which any movement is progressive or revolutionary is measured by its independence from the rulers of the society it seeks to change.”

With that said we must call upon those who represent us in Boston, in Massachusetts, in the United States, and in the United Nations to immediately end the transfer of money, weapons, people-power, and tactics with the State of Israel. We believe that calling for a ceasefire is nowhere near enough and that you must all act swiftly to end your collusion with and participation in this accelerated genocide. You cannot undo what has been done in your names already, but acting now can help prevent it, and your complicity, from becoming any worse.

Finally, we would like to share two timely and actionable items that are before MTPC right now.

  1. We have been made aware of State Street’s major investments in Elbit Systems and other military industrial complex corporations that are profiting from the mass death and genocide in Palestine. We received a pledge of $5,000 of unrestricted sponsorship funds from State Street Pride as a part of our Professionals for Trans Rights fundraiser in May. We have not yet received this money and have asked our Steering Committee to review the gift in line with our Gift Acceptance Policy. We do not have any further updates at this time but will provide them publicly as this process unfolds as part of our commitment to transparency and accountability.

  2. MTPC will be tabling at Boston Pride for the People on Saturday, June 8, 2024. Alongside many other organizations, activists, and community members, we will be at Boston Pride but that does not mean we are with Boston Pride. First, we show up at Pride events to be there for the transgender and nonbinary people of Massachusetts; to let them know that we are here to support them, to advocate for them, and to be visibly and proudly trans. Second, we believe that it is our responsibility to be present and be a loud voice of dissent against colonialism, genocide, the military industrial complex, racism, white supremacy, and of course, cissexism, transantagonism, and transphobia. We believe we must be fighting FOR the new trans future we are building just as much as we are fighting AGAINST the powers that be.

While we hope it goes without saying that our organization stands in direct opposition to colonialism, capitalism, and white supremacy, we acknowledge that we must actually say it. Especially at a time when we are being repeatedly lied to about the violence and mass death in Palestine by the same governments and media outlets that have done nothing to stymie the ongoing violence and attempted eradication of transgender and nonbinary people in the world. In fact, we know that many of these same power and warmongers are the ones who are actively stoking the fires of anti-transgender sentiment and violence in the US, the UK, and beyond.

As one of our most venerated ancestors Marsha P. Johnson proclaimed,
we believe that there can be no pride for some of us without liberation for all of us.

In trans love & power,
MTPC’s Staff and Steering Committee

We are saddened to share that due to a loss of state grant funding for the Trans Leadership Academy (TLA), we will be unable to hold a second cohort of the TLA in Spring 2024 as originally planned. This is not a decision that we have made lightly. After careful consideration, we have concluded that securing enough funding in time to run a second cohort effectively is not possible this year. Instead, we will focus on continuing to expand the TLA program and securing more stable and sustainable funding.

The loss of this funding is an example of an ongoing issue in social justice movements in which small, under-resourced nonprofits that are working to meet immense community needs are overly reliant on individual grants or funders to provide programming and services and also pay staff living wages. We hope that funders, grantmakers, and policymakers see issues like this and understand that they are often the gatekeepers of progress in our organizations and ultimately, in our communities.

Since 2022, the TLA program has been funded by the Community Empowerment and Reinvestment Program (CERP), a grant from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Economic Development (EOED). While we are disappointed that we will not be receiving funding to run the program this year, we would like to thank the EOED team for this grant program that has supported the initial development of the Trans Leadership Academy over the past two years. Through this funding, we were able to successfully run a full cohort of the TLA in 2023, assess the program and curriculum, and report on the positive outcomes and areas of growth. We have been able to demonstrate that this program is viable and can have the impact on our community that we intend. You can read the assessment of the 2023 TLA cohort here.

To alleviate reliance on grant funding such as this CERP grant, we envision a new and innovative funding model for the Trans Leadership Academy. We plan to develop partnerships with corporations, businesses, and other organizations to make the TLA a self-sustaining program based on the virtuous cycle principle. We will invite our partners to make direct financial contributions to the Trans Leadership Academy program to provide trans and nonbinary people throughout Massachusetts with job skills training and career and leadership development. Simultaneously, MTPC will provide education and consultation services to ensure our partners are creating and sustaining affirming and inclusive workplaces for trans and nonbinary people. We envision that graduates will be provided with opportunities for work experience, hopefully leading to direct pipelines of trans and nonbinary leaders in these businesses and organizations. 

While we wish we had better news to share with you all, we are choosing to see the opportunities for growth and development as we are feeling invigorated to continue the work needed to ensure that this program is prioritized and a resource available to our community.

In trans love + power,

Tre’Andre Carmel Valentine, Executive Director
Casey Pons, Steering Committee Chair

The first Trans Leadership Academy (TLA) cohort celebrated graduation this past July, marking a momentous achievement for the program graduates and for trans leadership in Massachusetts! The TLA is a leadership and job-skills development program designed for BIPOC, low-income, and/or formerly incarcerated transgender and nonbinary adults with the overarching goals to build trans power and advance lived equity.

When MTPC conducted our Working for Lived Equity (W4LE) Community Needs Assessment in 2019, at least half of all respondents identified employment, housing stability and homelessness, and paying bills and emergency funds, as among their top 3 concerns regarding basic needs. Based on this report, we got to work to develop a program to create pathways to sustainable power-building.

Through the guidance and input from our Community Advisory Board, MTPC launched the three-month pilot program in Boston this past April with a 10-person cohort instructed by Kay Martinez, TLA Curriculum Developer, and MG Xiong, MTPC’s Director of Programs. Through relevant workshops and genuine connections, the TLA cultivated an educational environment that centers trans experiences and acknowledges lived inequities for transgender people right here in Massachusetts.

At the heart of the TLA is a holistic approach to empowerment. True social mobility involves addressing a range of needs, from professional growth to personal well-being. So in designing and operating this program, MTPC aimed to provide comprehensive support through weekly programming with learning sessions on employment readiness topics over group dinner, mentorship connections, and material/financial resources, fostering meaningful relationships at each turn. Included below are experiences from people involved in the Trans Leadership Academy Spring 2023 session and data points from our TLA 2023 Impact Assessment. These reflections will inform how we build up our program to prepare for the next Trans Leadership Academy that will tentatively launch in February 2024!

– A TLA graduate shared, “TLA has helped me grasp my skills and build confidence in those skills. Although I haven’t gotten a position during the program, I believe I have all the skills to ensure I can shift from [my current position] to more creative [and desired] work. I am super excited for the next chapter in my life.” 

– Another program member wrote, “Working with TLA has provided me with the courage, knowledge, and resources to take action and work towards a better life that is lived for myself and my community, instead of resigning myself to a life of struggle and misery. Were it not for the tools provided to me by this program I don’t know if I’d have the confidence to continue pursuing a career that won’t drain me of my joy, and to work towards my long term goals.”

– “The TLA was t4t (trans-for-trans) through and through. There’s an incredibly relieving and uplifting feeling that you get when you’re in a room full of people who you don’t have to explain yourself to, who get it… so much of trans joy is being with other trans people,” says Director of Programs, MG Xiong who co-instructed the Spring session. “Before content and materials and logistics and limitations, my priority was in making this space a generator for trans joy, to connect community members to one another, to meet lifelong friends and professional connections. And I think we did just that.”

– A program mentor shared, “It was obvious that an intentional community was built for the mentees that was really nourishing and energizing.” 

Education and Career Growth

– Of the participants who want to advance their education, 40% took initial steps towards advancing their education, mainly researching programs to apply to and compiling application materials.

– Of the participants who completed the final survey, 50% started a new job or internship during the program. Participants’ average employment satisfaction score increased from 2.33/4 to 2.67/4 by the end of the program.

Basic Needs through Financial and Material Empowerment

– At the beginning of the program, 70% of participants thought it was very difficult for them to pay for usual expenses within the last 30 days, including food, rent/mortgage, car payments, medical expenses, student loans etc. This financial instability decreased significantly to only 17% of participants at the end of the program.

– On a financial security scale of 1 being very difficult to pay for usual expenses and 4 being not at all difficult, participants’ average financial security at baseline was 1.3/4, which increased to 2/4 by the end of the program.

– 50% of participants at baseline were very worried that they would run out of food before having money to find more within the last 2 weeks. This percentage remained the same at the end of the program.

– On a food security scale of 1 being very worried about running out of food and 4 being not worried at all, participants’ average food security at baseline was 1.8/4, which increased to 2/4 by the end of the program.

– 30% of participants at the beginning of the program noted they did not have a steady place to live within the past 30 days, which decreased to 17% of participants at the end of the program.

– The financial stipend provided to participants allowed participants to partially cover their rent, bridge the income gap between job changes, and pay off previous debts. These actions both supported participants’ financial security as well as their mental health, knowing they had some steady income for several months.

– The provided bus pass allowed participants to easily access the program and previously set aside transportation money to be used for other expenses such as food.

– The provided laptop allowed one participant to take a job they otherwise would not have been able to take due to the need to provide one’s own technology.

Mental Health and Connection

– 22% of participants at baseline reported poor mental health in the last 30 days. Of those who completed the final survey, zero participants reported poor mental health within the last 30 days of the program. On a mental health scale of 1 being poor mental health and 4 being excellent mental health, participants’ average mental health at baseline was 1.88/4, which increased to 2.17/4 by the end of the program.

– Two participants who completed the final survey reported contacting new health care providers because of the financial, technological, or logistical resources provided by TLA.

– One participant noted “I really appreciated being around other trans people… I have not found a place I felt comfortable in more than one identity facet since college.”

Mentorship

– The assessment found mentor-participant meetings covered a wide range of topics. Common topics included discussing the intricacies of one’s identities; career development and growth, especially current workplace challenges or long-term goals; and personal life challenges, such as participants’ mental health struggles. Mentors also directly helped participants fill out forms or applications to access community resources or apply for jobs.

– One participant noted, “I feel that [my mentor] took the time to listen to me and fully understand my goals before offering [their] own knowledge. That created an ambiance of equality that made me feel safe to learn and also be curious and unapologetic.”

To learn how you can become involved with the Trans Leadership Academy, contact us at programs@masstpc.org.

If you are interested in providing financial support for the Trans Leadership Academy, please contact Kelsey at development@masstpc.org.

BOSTON – June 21, 2023 – Namesake Collaborative and the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC) are thrilled to announce the launch of the Namesake platform to help transgender and nonbinary Bay Staters navigate the legal name and gender marker correction process as a part of MTPC’s Identity Document Assistance (IDA) Network.

This launch follows a successful year-long testing period during which over 100 community members provided incredibly important feedback, recommendations, and quality assurance to the development of the platform. These testers were able to utilize the platform to complete their legal name and gender marker changes. Namesake will continue to be a community-informed platform and welcomes further feedback and suggestions to adapt to users’ needs and the frequently-changing requirements for legal name changes and correcting identity documents.  

“In 2019 when we asked our community what they needed in our ‘Working for Lived Equity’ community needs assessment, nearly 80% told us that their top legal need was assistance with legal name and gender marker changes”, says MTPC’s Executive Director, Tre’Andre Valentine. “Knowing this, we made it a priority in our most recent strategic plan and I am so excited to share this new resource with our community as a part of MTPC’s ongoing work toward lived equity for all trans and nonbinary people in the Commonwealth.”

Legal name and gender marker corrections can be an important step for many trans and nonbinary people seeking to affirm their chosen names and gender identity. However, in the most recently published US Trans Survey, almost 70% of trans and nonbinary people reported that their identity documents do not reflect their correct name or gender. These disparities can impact an individual’s safety when engaging with law enforcement and access to lines of credit, bank accounts, and safe housing and employment.

“So often, technology and systems are built without considering trans and nonbinary people, or even actively excluding us, which is so significant considering how they govern our everyday lives”, says Namesake Collaborative founder Luke Lennon. “I’m proud that building Namesake has been and will continue to be a trans-led, community-collaborative effort. My hope is that folks feel seen, supported, and affirmed throughout this process, both by the tech itself and the people behind it.”

The Namesake platform is the newest addition to MTPC’s IDA Network, which also provides connections to pro bono legal resources and financial assistance with legal name and gender marker corrections. The fees associated with this process can exceed $400, which can be prohibitively expensive for many trans and nonbinary people. MTPC helps cover or offset these costs to create more access to corrected identity documents for all trans and nonbinary people in Massachusetts. For more information about Namesake, the IDA Network, or MTPC, please visit www.masstpc.org/ID.


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About the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition

The Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition works to ensure the well-being, safety, and lived equity of all trans, nonbinary, and gender-expansive community members in Massachusetts. They educate the public, advocate at state, local, and systemic levels, and through collective action, they mobilize the community, engage in capacity building, and advance community wellness and prosperity.

About the Namesake Collaborative:

Namesake is a trans-led platform that helps the transgender, nonbinary, and gender-expansive community manage their identities, starting with the legal name & gender marker change process. With Namesake, users can easily navigate complex paperwork and systems in order to take control of their legal, financial, and medical futures. Reach out to learn more at hey@joinnamesake.com.


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I stand on the shoulders and backs of those who came before. Trans people, black and brown people, who risked their lives in their unapologetic authenticity, in their flamboyancy, in their pain, in their trauma, in their complexity, in their resistance, and dare to dream bigger because we deserve better…we deserve more.

Pride is a complex nature; too much leads to arrogance, and too little leads to feelings of worthlessness. We as human beings are also complex in nature, we come with a multiplicity of identities, histories, and experiences. When I think about Pride, I think about complexity. The complexity of being a person of color and seeing only representations of queer whiteness. The complexity of being a trans person and seeing only cisgender representation and recognition within the LGBTQIA+ acronym.

The complexity of having to prove to the cis-hetero world that we are deserving of safety, equality, equity, and love; but our queer love isn’t safe when our lovers and partners are abusive. The complexity of MTPC being the oldest active trans advocacy organization in the nation but it took 18 years of literal blood, sweat, tears, and lives for Massachusetts to fully protect trans people under the law.

The complexity of the joy in being who you are and loving whom you love in the face messaging that tells you, you are not welcomed.

Pride is not only a celebration. It is also a protest—a resistance to that very message. Because who you are in all of your imperfections is more than enough, it is a gift. And love, in all forms, of self and others is a wondrous splendid thing! The concern should never be for who you love but for HOW you love.

I am deeply grateful to all those who have gone before, our ancestors, our elders, our living legends. And I honor all of those who risked their lives living, dancing, regaling, and fighting in the margins so that I may be here today to utter these words to you… Happy Pride.

In Love + Trans Power,

Tre’Andre Carmel Valentine (he/they)
Executive Director, MA Trans Political Coalition

Alejandra Caraballo
Trans Activist Award

Alejandra Caraballo (she/her) is a Clinical Instructor at Harvard Law School’s Cyberlaw Clinic where she focuses on the intersection of gender and technology. Prior to joining the clinic, Alejandra was a staff attorney at the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund and a Staff Attorney at the LGBTQ Law Project at New York Legal Assistance Group. In her spare time, she can be found playing guitar, building computers, creating electronic music, and brewing beer.

Ashton Mota
Trans Excellence Award

Ashton Mota (he/him/el) is a proud Black, Dominican-American student and transgender advocate from Lowell, MA. He is a bright, comical, compassionate eighteen-year-old who believes that spending time with family and friends brings out the very best in himself. Ashton’s advocacy began in 2018 at the age of 14, when he became one of the faces of the “Yes on 3” campaign to uphold gender identity protections in MA. In 2021, he partnered with The GenderCool Project to co-write A Kids Book About Being Inclusive to help educate others and share his story. He now travels the country giving speeches and advocating for trans young people. Ashton’s work with the GenderCool Project that resulted in the opportunity to introduce President Biden in June 2021 at a Pride Month ceremony at the White House.

Kimm Topping
In Service Award

Kimm Topping (they/them) values LGBTQ+ youth leadership, joy, and education. They’ve worked with grassroots organizations in Boston for over 10 years, including The Network / La Red, Trans Resistance, Building Audacity, and currently as the Safe Schools Program for LGBTQ Students Manager with the MA Commission on LGBTQ Youth and DESE. Kimm is the author of Generation Queer, the first collection of illustrated biographies about queer and trans youth activists forthcoming in 2023 from Tu Books / Lee & Low Books.

Will you join us in fighting for more?

Today is International Trans Day of Visibility (TDOV) – a complicated day for many trans people. Visibility can mean being seen and understood, but it can also mean being vulnerable, unsafe, and threatened. This is particularly true as trans and nonbinary people are facing such a tidal wave of anti-trans sentiment, legislation, policy, and media coverage, most prominently in the US and UK, but also throughout the world. These threats to the well-being and very existence of trans and nonbinary people can make visibility dangerous and completely inaccessible. This means that people may not “come out” as trans or nonbinary or they may try to hide their transness in any number of ways. First and foremost we want to say to our trans and nonbinary community – no matter how visible you can be or want to be – you are trans and you are loved and we’ve got your back. 

For many of us who are very visibly trans and/or nonbinary, visibility is not enough. It has nearly been ten years since Laverne Cox was the subject of Time Magazine’s infamous article “The Transgender Tipping Point” in 2014 and it feels like we’ve reached the opposite tipping point–the other end of the bell curve. We are not only heading backward, but further past that tipping point to a place even more actively hostile toward and deadly for trans and nonbinary people. Visibility only goes so far and if we don’t move from visibility to action, we will continue falling back down the curve.

For this reason, many have called for changes to the way we recognize TDOV to include action, resistance, and more. Because these things are necessary. Because these things come for other people, but rarely for us. Because we can no longer stand to watch our friends, siblings, partners, families, and community members struggle, flounder, hurt, and die. We refuse to idly let someone’s life be destroyed or ended simply because they are different; simply because they chose a life of freedom, self-love, and trans joy.

We’re at the opposite tipping point right now. We must find a way to stop this momentum before we reach the point of no return. And it is coming, whether or not you choose to ignore it. We beg you–don’t ignore it–our lives are worth so much more than your comfort.

One of the many ways you can join the movement to push back against this surge of anti-trans violence and sentiment is by supporting for trans, by trans organizations such as MTPC. This is the moment you’ve been waiting for to get involved—join us now!

Support MTPC Today!

To our beloved trans and nonbinary community,

Once again, our resilience is called upon to see us through. I must admit I’m at a loss for words as our community and loved ones face increased attacks from the recent bomb threats at Boston Children’s Hospital to the horrific mass shooting at Club Q, an LGBTQ+ club in Colorado Springs on the eve of Trans Day of Remembrance. Their terror is aimed at erasing us. It is devastating to witness. My heart aches for those who have lost their lives so horrifically and those who loved them fiercely. I am with you all in collective anger, grief, and exhaustion. 

Safe spaces are few and far between for queer and trans people. Dance floors, bars, clubs, and other nightlife spaces have historically been one of the primary places our community has gathered, learned and taught, organized and fundraised. Most importantly, it’s where we’ve found connection to community, our chosen families and friends, and the freedom to be ourselves; it’s where we’ve found love.

Make no mistake, the shooting at Club Q is a direct result of anti-trans rhetoric spewed by leaders and influential decision-makers who champion the criminalization of gender-affirming care, tout barring trans youth in sports and banning LGBTQ books in schools and libraries, parade their guns, advocate for loose gun laws and incite terror by threats and calls for violence. This abuse against the trans and nonbinary community is strategic and calculated. Like an abusive partner, they mean to isolate us, make our lives smaller, make us distrustful and exist only in the shadows, or not at all. It is the purpose of abuse: to break the spirit. And yet, we persist. Our authenticity and love for each other cannot and will not be held prisoner. This is what scares them about us, the freedom we found in being ourselves.

MTPC would like to extend our deepest condolences to the chosen family, friends, relatives, and communities of those who have been lost at the hands of senseless transphobia, queerphobia, and gun violence. I know that some of us aren’t afforded the space to process or grieve, but I hope you all have people around you to hold close and lean on. May we continue to live fully, boldly, and courageously. 

In trans power and love,

Tre’Andre Carmel Valentine

The Colorado Healing Fund (CHF) is collecting donations directly in response to the Club Q shooting. CHF provides a secure way to donate to victims of mass violence in Colorado. https://www.coloradogives.org/story/Clubq 

If you need support, please contact one of the following resources.

A photo of MG from the waist up, wearing a blue and white plaid shirt with a red tie. The top of their hair is bleached. They are standing in front of a large green plant.

The Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC) announced today that MG Xiong (they/them) will be joining the MTPC team as the new Programs Manager. In this role they will oversee the development and launch of the Trans Leadership Academy, the IDA Network, and MTPC’s partnership with Namesake Collaborative.

MG is a Hmong trans non-binary Bostonian who was born and raised in Alaska. They have organized in community-oriented engagement on trans and queer rights, gun violence in underserved neighborhoods, and anti-racist education. MG has served youth and adults alike, building community between generations, cultures, and identities. They are a recent graduate from UMass Boston who spent their undergraduate education researching best practices for fostering belonging for gender non-conforming individuals in spaces of learning. Outside of work and service, MG enjoys cycling around the Charles River and parenting their kitten, Atlas.

The Steering Committee and MTPC’s Executive Director, Tre’Andre Valentine are very excited about the continued expansion of the organization. “MTPC is in a period of rapid growth and transformation and I am so excited that it has brought MG to our team.” said Tre’Andre. “Their empathetic and mindful approach to this work will bring a welcome infusion of energy and expertise to our programs and community engagement work. Welcome, MG!”

The Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition works to ensure the wellbeing, safety, and lived equity of all trans, nonbinary and gender expansive community members in MA. We educate the public, advocate at state, local and systemic levels; and through collective action, we mobilize community, engage in capacity building, and advance community wellness and prosperity.

Posted on May 10, 2022.