Closed Mouths Don’t Get Fed. And We are Done Starving.

BLOGMARSHA P JOHNSON INSTITUTECHASTITY BOWICK
Written By Tamara Leigh

If You Want to Be Heard, This Is the Moment.

I’m Chastity, Executive Director of the Marsha P. Johnson Institute. Stepping into this role comes with an opportunity and a responsibility that I do not take lightly. My job is to make sure those needs shape what we build and how we fight.

  • You’ve said you want to be heard.

  • You’ve said you’re tired of speaking and being ignored.

  • You’ve said you want action, not just acknowledgement.

I hear you.

When the brick was passed to me, I understood what that meant. This work was never meant to be done alone or from a distance. It is meant to be built with our people at the center, especially in moments like this.

That is why one of my first acts as the new Executive Director of MPJI was to launch our Community Needs Assessment. This is an open-ended survey created for BLACK and brown Trans people to speak honestly about what is happening right now. 

Many of us have filled out the U.S. Transgender Survey every time it has been released. The most recent data we have is from 2022, and only about 35% of respondents were people of color.  That data matters, but it does not fully reflect BLACK and brown Trans lives in this moment, under this level of attack.

Currently, our survey respondents are over 70% BLACK and brown. And we need your help to reach our goal of over 95%.

Too often, we have been asked to share our stories, reopen wounds, and hand over our time, only to see our voices disappear and our conditions remain the same.

MPJI seeks to disrupt this pattern and create real change.

This assessment is for you. It is how we make sure BLACK and brown Trans people are not an afterthought but the majority voice shaping this work. If you want an organization that fights for us, this is part of that fight.

We need you to show up.

  • The survey takes less than 10 minutes. 

  • It is available in English and Spanish. 

  • It includes open-ended questions so you can speak freely without being boxed in or edited down. 

  • All responses are anonymous.

I am personally reading every single one.

We are deeply grateful for your time and efforts. When you take the survey, you will have the option to enter a raffle to win one of six prizes:

  • $1000 (one winner)

  • $500 (one winner)

  • $250 (two winners)

  • Community Cares Gift Basket (two winners)

You’ve said you want to be heard.

I’m listening.
Now tell me what you need.


Tamara Leigh