January Letter from the Board

Dear NTBA Community,

I write this on a Full Moon, pausing the flurry of thoughts and work to attempt to write this
letter in order to be present with all of you, asynchronously, via the technological page.
I have no words to fully convey the collective grief in our community right now.

First, to all those in California who have been forced to evacuate or have lost their homes and belongings to fires, please know that we are thinking of you. If you can offer support, there are numerous ways to do so. See https://www.them.us/story/mutual-aid-funds-la-fires; https://www.vox.com/climate/395295/los-angeles-wildfires-help-donate-volunteer-
organizations; https://organizingmythoughts.org/fire-related-mutual-aid-efforts-to-support-and-some-must-reads/.

It has been difficult to stay in the present given global destruction and the impending inauguration. Many of us are asked to be productive, prepared to jump in and offer support as soon as the presidential administration changes next week and many enter a state of panic and precarity as a result of executive policy, if they aren’t already there. I am thankful to those who have already compiled resources to support our community through anything that might hit us. See https://transgenderlawcenter.org/resources/;
https://www.advocate.com/news/transgender-people-crackdowns-under-trump; https://www.instagram.com/the.reve.olution/.

And the NTBA is working on innovative ways to continue supporting our members, so that all of us can continue to do our work supporting others. The amount we can do as individuals may be limited, but together, we can get through whatever happens next. We know that our members will continue to be a guiding light for trans youth, trans people seeking support, and all families and friends of trans people who are prepared to combat the hateful rhetoric that sows misunderstanding and fear.

“The amount we can do as individuals may be limited, but together, we can get through whatever happens next.”

Sometimes, though, no matter what reassurances I know I can gather in the collective, sitting with my feelings can be very heavy; there is weight to the collective pain right now. In those moments, I am finding a lot of comfort in the Transa album, a “46-track prismatic spiritual journey in 8 chapters” celebrating trans people. The 8 chapters feel like an attempt to represent “the trans experience,” to the extent that anything that can be called a universal experience: 1. Womb of the Soul; 2. Survival; 3. Dark Night; 4. Awakening; 5. Grief; 6. Acceptance; 7. Liberation; 8. Reinvention. I think many of us feel like we’re in a dark night. Please hold on. Please remember this is not the end. Please remember how far we’ve come, how many of us there are, and how powerful we are—how powerful you are.

“Please remember how far we’ve come, how many of us there are, and how powerful we are—how powerful you are.”

I write this on a Full Moon. It is a dark night, but there is light.

In solidarity,

D Dangaran, NTBA co-chair