From the Desk of Victoria Von Blaque… Great Gowns, Beautiful Gowns, Not the Right Gown for this Occasion NYTAG

On the morning of Monday, August 24, I woke up, as I do most mornings, with my darling daughter, the Countess of Chaos, securely sleeping in her favorite place—my personal dirty pillows, a.k.a. my tits. Since I’m on vacation, I haven’t been as tapped into the community, as I’m trying to learn how to separate in order to prioritize self-care while sustaining this work. I refuse to follow in the same habits as our Transtors, who literally worked themselves to death.

I received some staggering news that left many New York activists, community partners, and siblings of the late Kiara St. James gobsmacked. What exactly had my flabbers so ghasted? 

Ok so BOOM! William Colon is a cisgender man working at NYTAG which just happens to be a FUBU (For Us By Us) organization.  He was the CFO (Chief Financial Officer), AS 👏🏼 A 👏🏽 CIS 👏🏾 MAN 👏🏿 and now is the CEO (chief executive officer) I’m guessing your values are aligned; but wait, how were they align? If you believe in the mission statement of this org you should’ve never taken either one of those roles! For those who don’t know, NYTAG was founded by Kiara St. James and Tanya Walker, with the help of other Black and Brown trans women, because let’s be serious: historically we’re the ones who get things done when it comes to community and public engagement. Taken from the NYTAG website, their mission statement reads: “To create pathways for TGNCNBI New Yorkers to build leadership, drive advocacy, and grow community rooted in collective care and power.” Their vision statement states: “A New York where every TGNCNBI person can lead, thrive, and shape the world they live in.” This is why many of us who knew, worked beside, and loved Kiara are perplexed. Just because you are qualified to do this work doesn’t mean you should be doing it. It’s giving Great gowns, beautiful gowns, not the right gown for this occasion!