The grant was our first acknowledgement from an institution, which is important for public service projects…The grant, to be completely honest, gave me a reinvigoration of hope in this effort when I had sort of lost it. Being a transgender woman anywhere in the world is a pretty difficult journey. Having ideas and perseverance to do them when institutions with resources don’t take your efforts seriously- as a Black trans woman- can make you want to throw in the towel. At times, I asked myself, ‘Why am I committed to this? I have a job, so why am I taking on additional work when I don’t need to be?’ However, I’ve just been completely married to the idea that trans women of color- in particular black transgender women, are not empowered in ways that we could be. Receiving the Pollination Project grant reinvigorated my commitment to the vision, and gave me a stronger trajectory to generate and create ideas and newer ways of thinking about this effort to be impactful.
Aria Sa’id, Kween Culture Initiative, San Francisco, CA, USA
by Milena Fraccari | Nov 20, 2018 | What Does $1000 Do?