Jaelynn Scott Talks Leading the Lavender Rights Project and Supporting Seattle's Black Trans Community
Hosted by Deaunte Damper, We Live In Color returned this week with another exciting episode featuring a prominent community leader. This episode featured Jaelynn Scott, Executive Director of the Lavender Rights Project (LRP), a Black trans advocacy group committed to providing safety, resources, and opportunities. Scott delves into her background, journey to becoming the Executive Director of LRP, and the impactful work the organization is undertaking for Seattle's Black Trans community.
Born and raised in the Deep South, Scott reflected on her coming-of-age experience in the 1990s, tying in her profoundly religious upbringing and the added complexity of coming out during the same period.
"I was coming out in Mississippi at 18 years old, and I'm joining certain groups and starting to go to protest and LGBTQ protests in ways that other black folks in Mississippi weren't doing at the time. Because it was hard and dangerous, and I think the Black community, particularly Mississippi, had associated queerness and LGBTQness in the way that sort of social justice activist held it as a white thing right."
Regarding coming out as part of the LGBTQ community and even the advocacy work that she so heavily takes part in, for her, in her state and at that time, it was much more complicated to navigate.
"Coming out was a white thing, not necessarily something we did. We weren't using the pride flag. We had our stuff that we would go to in Atlanta, Dallas, and New Orleans, but I think we had just started leaning into pride and understanding our role within the larger LGBTQ advocacy work world," Scott said. "A lot of Black community had always done some trans advocacy and HIV advocacy work, but really understanding ourselves in the ecosystem of LGBTQ social justice work was just not a thing at the time."
While she acknowledged a certain level of acceptance and love within her community, church, and family and even observed others in the LGBTQ community quietly actively participating in church life, Scott emphasized that grappling with her identity was still very challenging.
"It was a struggle," Scott said. "To some extent, it's hard to talk about in public spaces or with mixed company, as we say, the Back community and its relationship to queer identity. Because I think there's a lot of stereotypes about how the Black community is not accepting. I just think it's different."
Expanding on this, she continued, "I think the more that I started using the language of queerness and leaning into a little bit of transness, it got tricky," Scott said. "I think that's when I started to get a lot more pushback."
Reflecting on her journey of self-affirmation, Scott credited LGBTQ authors such as E. Lynn Harris and James Baldwin and their work for inspiring her to embrace her identity with confidence early on.
"I learned of all of the folks who were Black and queer, who were important in our community, and that was the way that I affirmed myself. Although I felt completely isolated, and as a unicorn, I was not alone," Scott said. "Knowing that I had always been there, that we had always been there, and that we were pillars of the community."
Scott also found inspiration from individuals who influenced her, shaping her approach to her work today. One such influential person was James, also known as Jasmine, who embodied confidence and fearlessness while living openly in drag in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Despite the conservative environment, James' authentical living served as a source of admiration for Scott.
"She was the first that was like, "Girl, why don't you do your nails? Why don't you think about wearing this? Why don't you think about some shoes," Scott said. "She helped me understand how there was safety in showing up fully in myself because the hiding wasn't doing it. I got harassed more than she got harassed. There was something about the boldness and pride with which she showed up that helped her."
She continued, "It showed me that there was a different way to live life and not live in fear. I think about her often. I reflect on her often. In some way, I regret that I didn't have the bravery that she had. But I had to make the choices that I made. But when I decided, you know why I'm doing this, she was the first person I thought of. If she could do it and live like that 20 years ago, I can live as my true self now."
Scott's journey to becoming the Executive Director of LRP has been eventful, with its foundation laid in the early 2000s. Initially pursuing a career as a flight attendant, Scott faced a significant setback when she was laid off shortly after 9/11.
"It was the first time that I had a sense of being out of my family's house and a little bit of independence, and it just sort of was ripped away immediately," Scott said.
Amidst this setback, Scott navigated a challenging period marked by substance abuse and identity struggles. During this time, she turned to spirituality, embarking on a journey of self-discovery through the practices of Buddhism and meditation.
"It worked for me. It grounded me. I felt free and free of some of the pain that I struggled with most of my life, and I remembered this calling that I had. My great-grandmother used to call me a little preacher," Scott said.
Continuing, "I really did grow up feeling that calling, and my grandmother's always affirmed that this was going to be a thing for me. Once I found my ground and spiritual center again, I was like, ministry is where it is."
Following her spiritual awakening, Scott pursued further education by attending ministry school at Naropa University in Boulder. Subsequently, she dedicated multiple years to immersive retreats and solitary contemplation, often withdrawing for months. Eventually, she found herself with the Unitarian Universalist Church, known for its liberal and progressive values.
"I chose it because it was the perfect mix of faith and social justice, and I couldn't find that mix anywhere else right in terms of my home tradition, which was Buddhism," Scott said. "In the Black church, there's always this mix of social justice and spirituality but not with queerness and transness."
Scott later embarked on a journey within various churches, where she actively engaged in ministry work centered around racial equity, racial justice, and transgender justice. However, her commitment to these causes often led to frequent church changes until she settled in Seattle.
"I spent a little bit of time in Colorado and wound around other white progressives, so I sort of got it," Scott said. "I feel like Seattle is the capital of white liberal progressiveness. If NPR had a home city, it would be Seattle. It feels like it's just peek-white progressiveness, and that comes with all of the downfalls and maybe some of the benefits, too."
Reflecting on her relocation to Seattle, Scott recognized the mixed realities it offers to transgender individuals. On one hand, the city provides a sense of safety and refuge, functioning as a secure haven for the community.
"I transitioned here, and I waited many years to transition, probably 15 years after I realized it, but I felt like something about here: the trees right covering me, the rain shielding me, the cloudiness sort of being a protector for me and maybe a little bit of the progressive environment being some feeling of safety," Scott said.
Regarding downsides, she said, "In terms of feeling community, and feeling warmth and feeling love from folk and feeling seen and my blackness and who I am, absolutely not. It's this mixed bag of the terror of white progressiveness, which is what they do to us and project onto us, but also this alluring safety that's offered in their presence. It's such a challenge, and I'm always feeling torn here."
This struggle isn't new to Scott; she's grappled with similar challenges since her youth. "I went through phases. It felt like I was being pushed out from the Christian church because I was deeply religious myself," Scott said, reflecting on when she first came out. "I felt like I was being pushed out from family. I couldn't find my place, and so then, I left, tried a little taste of the white queer community, and realized that I felt more alone in this space and realizing that that was not the same kind of queerness that I was living myself."
This conflict ultimately drove Scott to join LRP and shape it into what it is today.
"It is the community or the hope for a community that I want in the Pacific Northwest and that I wanted and needed in the Pacific Northwest," Scott said of the Black-led trans organization.
She initially joined LRP after being pushed out by another advocacy organization. Recognizing her dedication and contributions, LRP welcomed her aboard. Scott came with a clear mission: to devise strategies for empowering people of color, especially Black transgender individuals, to assume leadership roles—a goal she candidly admits stemmed from personal motivations.
"They were community leaders that I was just hoping to be in a relationship around the dinner table with, in a very feminist way, just to be there with them," Scott said. "But what happened was transformative. They started having their vision for the organization, and we started to hire more full-time staff. I took over as Executive Director; we changed the mission, the vision, and the entire organization."
Continuing, she said, "We are in many ways still isolated from the rest of the LGBTQ Seattle Community, and we have to make it work for ourselves, but we have figured out how to make it work for our community and ourselves ... I think that work is not only supporting folks like me, but it's also transforming the scene of LGBTQ advocacy in the state and hopefully at some point in the country."
Currently, LRP is dedicated to several important initiatives, with a strong focus on housing for trans individuals. They are preparing to open a new housing facility on Capitol Hill and continue to advocate vigorously for the rights and needs of the BIPOC trans community.
"We will continue fighting for guaranteed income and guaranteed income for trans people, particularly in the state of Washington and elsewhere," Scott said. "There are a lot of anti-trans bills and legislation happening, and we're trying to respond where we can. But we think the most important thing that people do right now is to be thinking about building our community and investing in opportunities like guaranteed income housing."
To learn more about Scott and her organization's work, visit the Lavender Rights Project's website here.
"The most important thing that you can do right now for trans folks and trans people of color is to realize that if you take care of black trans women, you'll take care of our entire black community," Scott said.
Join Deaunte every Thursday on all Converge Media platforms for more engaging conversations with guests like Scott, highlighting advocacy work, inclusivity, diversity, and living life in full color!
