Chanel has been part of the Heartland Alliance community for decades. As a longtime participant and volunteer at our Vital Bridges pantry, Chanel has found access to healthy foods, healthcare, and community. Just recently, Heartland Alliance also helped secure Chanel affordable housing on the city’s north side.
As a Trans Black woman, Chanel sees the recent Black Lives Matter protests as a wake-up call for many, both in the LGBTQ community and the greater society. She hopes that its congruence with Pride month gives everyone a chance to reflect on the past, but continue to move forward.
How does your identity as both a Black person and an individual in the LGBTQIA+ community influence the way you see the current movements happening across the nation?
I just hope people will internalize this the right way. George Floyd was weeks ago, and we’re still seeing black people dying from police brutality. He wasn’t the first, he wasn’t the last. We’re going to be doing this over and over again until we address the roots of these systems.
The level of change we need to see in order to achieve real justice has to start at the foundation of this country. You know, I know people in the LGBTQ community who are racist, who are transphobic. The fabric of this society was based on patriarchy, on slave-ownership, on white supremacy – and we need a complete change. The work has to be done completely, and it has to be truly transformational.
How are you seeing Pride differently this year?
Pride is honoring those who we have lost, and celebrating a better today. From loss – unfortunately, young trans women of color are disproportionately more likely to die, to be homeless, to commit suicide. It shouldn’t be this hard to live your life as who you are. It’s been like this forever, black trans women have been here forever. This isn’t new.
Those have been killed for who they are, they don’t get to be heard anymore. I feel that we have the chance right now to show the world our true selves, but it’s also up to people to listen. Society shouldn’t just be outraged when a black person dies, or when a black trans person dies, they should be motivated and inspired to act when we speak – they need to listen.
Pride is a time of celebration of both individuality and community. How do you celebrate and honor those in your community?
I think of it like this – addressing injustice is celebrating. Pride goes all the way back to Stonewall, it’s based in fighting for what is right. Black trans women started this battle. It’s good that we get to celebrate, but people forget why we’re celebrating. We’re celebrating the fight for justice. You want to celebrate? Remember that there are people who have a lack of food, a lack of housing – and make a difference.
How has Heartland Alliance supported you in being able to be your authentic self?
At Vital Bridges, I’ve seen Heartland Alliance accept people exactly as they come. This place believes in helping at all costs.
And here’s the thing, Heartland Alliance has been doing this from the beginning – not just because it’s fashionable. They do it because it’s the right thing to do. Like Lori Cannon and the people at Vital Bridges, those people don’t just serve food – they are advocates for LGBTQ rights, and have been since the 80s. That’s not easy work, that’s really challenging – but we do what is right, and that in and of itself is creating a welcoming space.
How can those who may not share your same experiences or identity, work to build an equitable and just society?
This is something that most people have thought about, but never really acted on. It’s about seeing yourself in other people, it’s about understanding that pain. People have no idea how difficult it can be out there, and it takes a lot – a lot – of work to try and understand someone they think of as an “outsider.”
And that’s going to help you just as much as it helps the greater society. You will have a deeper sense of yourself when you begin to try and truly understand someone else that is not like you. Seeing other people as doing something wrong, and changing your perspective on what is wrong, is foundational change on the individual level. It’s just as hard as the bigger change we need to see in this country, but in the long run it will build compassion.
