Hello dear audience! This is Jacqui, writer and researcher of “Under the Sycamore Tree.” Here are our show notes for our Episode 2: “Setting Precedent: Positive Rights?”
Possible triggers in this episode include transphobia, police brutality, rape, unfair arrest, trans-youth abuse, misgendering, and possible deadnaming. The organization and organizer featured is Candacy McEwan, Founder and Executive Director of Guyana Trans United. Founded in 2012, Guyana Trans United is an organization that aims to improve the quality of life for the trans-Guyanese community and to ensure that their rights are recognized in all domains through human rights advocacy, promoting respect and acceptance within the larger society, and empowering transgender individuals through creating and sustaining an environment free from all violence, prejudice, discrimination, and other negative and adverse conduct.
The precedent-setting Caribbean Court of Justice case that frames this episode is McEwan, et. al. vs. The Attorney General of Guyana (2018). You can find a video of Judge Saunders’ judgment on the Caribbean Court of Justice’s YouTube channel, and the written judgment here. Our context on the UK Privy Council comes from Radio 90 FM (Jamaica), and according to the journal, International Legal Matters, “the savings clause of the Constitution of Guyana is to be found at Article 152; it states that nothing contained in or done under the authority of any pre-independence written law shall be held in contravention of the human rights protected by the Constitution.” Visit Guyana Trans United online via their Equality Fund webpage, their Twitter @GuyanaTrans, and their Facebook page.
Our Producer, Dave-Ann, first interviewed Candacy in late 2021, and Carla’s conversation with Candacy happened in March 2022.
I hope you connect with these texts and enjoy the episode even further! Sincerely,
Jacks.
Transcript
EPISODE OPENER
00;00;00;00 - 00;00;29;05, Candacy McEwan (Guyana Trans United, Guyana): But in 2009, as I always reflect it as a magical, night, it was seven of us picked up on that particular night. And when we been picked up and we went into the lock up, they expect us to offer them a bribe in terms of maybe paying the police station, that we would normally do, but we said, no, it’s seven of us, and we gonna go through with it.
Introducing this Episode
00;00;29;07 - 00;01;18;21, Carla: Another privilege of this podcast is to revel in the court precedent set by grantee partner, Guyana Trans United. Perhaps there are not enough opportunities for the members of Guyana Trans United to be recognized as elders and forerunners of Caribbean queer feminist and trans organizing. Did you know that they're the first trans-led organization in the English speaking Caribbean? We didn't.
Carla continues: We also didn't know that they were central to the Caribbean Courts of Justice case, which overturned colonial era, so-called cross-dressing laws, which were often used to criminalize nonbinary and trans persons. Lekka tell you something. I can’t wait for you to hear this conversation with Candacy. co-founder and executive director of Guyana Trans United.
Trigger Warning
00;01;18;23 - 00;02;15;09, Carla: We’ll be discussing topics that some listeners may find triggering including; transphobia, police brutality, rape, unfair arrest, and trans youth abuse. During the episode, we will be discussing a legal case in which a trans person's dead name is used by the judge. We understand that this can be hurtful and disrespectful to the trans community, and we want to acknowledge that we do not condone the use of dead names or misgendering.
Carla continues: But we thought it was important for us to include recordings of this landmark case. We understand that these topics can be difficult to hear about, and we want to remind our listeners that it's okay to take a break if you need to.
Carla’s Welcome!
Carla: You deh yah pon de verandah, we deh yah pon de verandah, open you heart and you mind, cock up you foot and mek we have a good time.
[Act 1] A Court Conversation
00;02;15;11 - 00;03;02;22, Candacy McEwan (Guyana Trans United, Guyana): So my name is Quincy McEwan a.k.a. Candacy, I'm the executive director and founder of Guyana Trans United. Guyana Trans United is a non-governmental organization, is the first transgender led organization to found in English speaking Caribbean. However, Guyana Trans United were set up in terms to advocate for transgender rights, In terms of we might have been a part of a lot of LGBT organizations and not our needs has never been advanced in those human rights group that we maybe been a part of. In terms of HIV and AIDS was very rampant and still would have been a part of our community. And those are some of the need that we try to address through the Guyana Trans United.
00;03;02;25 - 00;04;46;04, Carla: Did you hear what Candacy just said there? Trans folks had been organizing within the queer movement from TIME, but these cis gender led queer groups did not or could not fight fully for trans rights. So nearly 15 years ago, Candacy and our fellow organizers founded Guyana Trans United so they could lead a feminist and queer justice organizing from the front. This leadership includes, of course, their precedent setting court case. So let us receive Candacy's testimony on the Guyana Trans United Case: McEwan et al, versus the Attorney General of Guyana.
Carla continues: But we'll need to stick a pin here and give you what an American podcast might call an explanatory comma. So what is the Caribbean Court of Justice? What is its relationship to the UK Private Council? Remember the court case Day et al, which we briefly discussed in episode zero?
[ARCHIVAL AUDIO] “Privy council rules against same sex marriage in Cayman Islands,” Nationwide News FM: “A recent ruling by the Privy Council in relation to same sex marriages in the Cayman Islands has dealt a blow to lobby groups across the region that want to have the buggery law struck down.”
Carla: Well, why was it that the UK Privy Council was the highest judicial authority for that case? But the Caribbean Court of Justice was the highest judicial authority? But the Guyana Trans United case. Here is a useful explainer from Jamaica's nationwide FM Radio on the Judicial Committee on the UK Privy Council.
00;04;46;07 - 00;05;03;12, [ARCHIVAL AUDIO] Nationwide News FM, continued: “Common law is the set of rules and precedents that guides the constitutions of several Commonwealth countries. That means a court ruling in one country can set legal precedents in another country. That's the case with the ruling of the Privy Council in the case brought by Cayman's government.”
00;05;03;14 - 00;05;24;05, Carla: And now the Caribbean Court of Justice is the highest judicial authority for those countries that have opted to leave the UK Privy Council. Remember, Ambassador David Commissiong from Barbados, who we heard from in episode zero? He noted, for example, that Barbados made this transition over a decade ago.
00;05;24;08 - 00;06;01;01, [ARCHIVAL AUDIO] Democracy now interview with David Commissiong: It really should have happened on the 30th of November 1966, when Barbados became an independent country. But back then, for whatever reasons, and you know, there are many reasons we can speculate about, we made two compromises on our constitutional sovereignty and independence. We corrected one compromise in 2005 when we broke our legal system away from the British Privy Council and installed our Caribbean Court of Justice as our highest national court.
[Act 2] Processing this Court Conversation: Adding our Voices
00;06;01;03 - 00;06;59;03, Carla: Here is how their case began, as narrated by Candacy alongside Justice Saunders. Some of you might find this quite dry. Some air might be super into hearing legal judgments. Either way, please listen carefully and from your center, as this is what the adjudication of our rights often sounds like. Remote, dry, plodding, inaccessible, sometimes harmless, sometimes intriguing, and sometimes useful.
Carla: In this instance, the honorable Mr. Justice A. Saunders delivers what seems to us a truly sturdy, sensible and comprehensive judgment. Head over to our show notes where we link to the full judgment. We encourage you to listen to the Court's judgment in its entirety.
00;06;59;06 - 00;09;02;08, [ARCHIVAL AUDIO] GYCV2017/015 - The honorable Mr. Justice A. Saunders in Quincy Mc Ewan, Seon Clarke & Others v The Attorney General of Guyana: In February 2009, they were arrested, detained, charged, convicted and punished for cross-dressing in public. McEwan and Clarke were arrested while awaiting transportation in Georgetown. McEwan is dressed in a pink shirt and a pair of tights, along with a black hair piece. Clarke was wearing slippers, a jersey and a skirt. They were transported to the Brickenham police station where they were photographed and instructed to undress and then placed in a lock up.
Justice Saunders continues: A few hours later, Fraser and Persaud were also arrested and taken to the same police station. At the time they were dressed in skirts and each wore a red and black wig. While in custody, Fraser made several requests of the police. He demanded that the police take a statement from him. He sought legal counsel and requested medical attention for injuries sustained during an earlier altercation.He also asked for a telephone call. None of his requests were granted. Instead, he and Persaud were put in a cell where they met McEwan and Clarke. That's where all four of them spent the weekend. Neither at the time of arrest nor any other time during the weekend did they receive any explanation as to why they had been arrested and detained.
Justice Saunders continues: It was only when they were taken to the Georgetown Magistrate's Court on Monday, ninth February, they learned for the first time that they had been charged with the offenses of loitering and with the offense in the impugned law. The impugned section prohibits every person who quote being a man in any public way or public place for any improper purpose appears in a female attire or being a woman in any public place for any improper purpose appears in a male attire.
00;09;02;11 - 00;11;19;23, [INTERVIEW, 2021] Candacy: So the law that I was speaking about here is a law that from our colonial masters there’s a saving clause that it would cause a few laws within these laws, in terms of male dressed in a female attire, or a female dressed in the male attire. So one of the thing is that trans person at the time was being affected by the law.
Candidacy continues: So the police, once you're dressed in female attire and you go out, the police would come and harass you. So many times they would have picked up me or pick up other trans woman before 2009. And because they want to pick up one or two persons, sometimes you as a trans person, because you dressed in your female attire, you would be placed in a male lock up where a lot of male is there.
Candidacy continues: And you because you wanted safety you normally would go to them and offer them, sometimes you engage in sex work and you would say to them ‘ok, this is all the money that I have for the night, whatever is it, I am willing to give it for my safety’ because it was you alone. But in 2009, as I always reflect it as a magical, night, it was seven of us picked up on that particular night. And when we been picked up and we went into the lock up, they expect us to offer them a bribe in terms of maybe paying the police station, that we would normally do, but we said, no, it’s seven of us, and we gonna go through with it.
Candidacy continues: However, they have a law of stipulate that you cannot hold a person beyond seventy-two hours. Some of us was hold beyond the 72 hours. The reason why they still feel that we would’ve come to them in arms to pay or ask the police station to make us free. We said, let us challenge it and go before the court. However, when we went before the court, the magistrate at the particular time that was dealing didn't act in our favor. She said ‘ stop embarrassing us, in terms that oh you're a male dressed in female attire. Why would you want to dress in male-female clothes, why don’t you give your life to Christ?’
Candidacy continues: And we realized that the particular time that police them was in the courtroom and the police was the prosecutor in the courtroom.
00;11;19;26 - 00;11;42;06, [ARCHIVAL AUDIO] The Honorable Justice A. Saunders in Quincy Mc Ewan, et. al v. The Attorney General of Guyana: They all pleaded guilty to the cross-dressing charge. And McEwan, Clarke and Persaud were fined $7,500, while Fraser was fined $19,500. Upon imposing the sentence, the presiding magistrate told them they were confused about their sexuality and that they were men, not women.
00;11;42;08 - 00;15;53;28, Candacy: So we said, if we leave this with all of this what the magistrate said to us, it gonna give the police more right to come against us. Mind you, each one of us has to pay a fine. So we didn't charged for loitering which they attracted… said she trying to be lenient after insulting us. She said because of my leniency ‘ you’re supposed to be paying $17,500 fine for each one of the charge.
Candacy continues: But because of my leniency, you gonna pay $7500 for each one. Amounted us seven five I think in total, seven five on one was $10,000. So each one of us pay like $17,000. We been released on the fines. And then we said, we don't feel that we had enough justice from the magistrate. We feel our rights was even further violated, when she said ‘ok why you wanted to dress in female attire?’ we said ‘then this would give the police more power to come against us’
Candacy continues: So we came out at the time and we didn't have nobody was documenting human rights. One year after we learned about SASOD was doing human rights violations for LGBT. And then we reach out to them, they document our case the same year to be able to have [indiscernible] act on it pro-bono and there’s where Tracey Robinson and such take up the case.
Candacy continues: The first hearing to file at the high court, because we then had to go to the high court and we went from the high court in 2010 until 2013. We had, I like to say the first win, but it was very complicated in terms of chancellor at the time said,’ okay, if you're trans dressed in female attire to express your gender identity it’s not a problem but if you're going to do it for improper purpose’...at the time, we as trans persons could not interpret what the meaning of ‘improper purpose’ because many of us are engaged in sex work. And we realized that some clause around sex work in our country is also criminalized in terms of solicitation and persons who living off of the earning of sex work. And we said we couldn't get a judge to interpret what was ‘improper purpose’ to us.
Candacy continues: And we tell our lawyer that we don’t feel that he done a correct justice. We was supposed to be clear what the law is, so we will know, we will not able to break the law in future again. So the ‘improper purpose’ we could not define and they decide to hear us and then they said, okay, we give you another chance.
Candacy continues: We went to a court of appeal, and then when we went to the Court of Appeal, the Court of Appeal actually uphold what we were hearing from our high court, but with a little bit more definition, saying that if you wear a female attire to commit a robbery, then that may be the improper purpose. But then it's supposed to go before your magistrate, and the magistrate will determine what is the improper purpose that you've been picked up for.
Candacy continues: More problems. And it’s that time we remember this two other trans women at that particular time. They said that we were getting this justice from the highest court in Guyana at that time. There were two transwomen who had matters, one is Twinkle and now migrated. She had a problem where somebody lash her in the bus and she was going to court as she couldn't access the courtroom because the magistrate put her out, say she dressed in female attire.
Candacy continues: So the interpretation - going to court at a particular time, maybe that was the improper purpose, because she came from her home going to court to advance a matter where she’d been violated and the magistrate turn her away.
Candacy continues: We had another of trans women that I know who were been assaulted by somebody went before the court in the same magistrate court, with the same magistrate and the magistrate turn her away also, saying that ‘she dressed in female attire and she cant enter this courtroom’. And we realize that the improper purpose didn’t work. Then we went all the way to the CCJ.
00;15;54;01 - 00;16;51;03, Carla: And did you catch the last part? Listen good, Candacy ago pull it up fi we. She ago explain the oppressive impact of this law on the everyday lives of queer and gender non-conforming people. Hear how Candacy and her fellow organizers and co-plaintiffs read the initial judgment as she says, If they can't make sense of this judgment, whether by its language or because it doesn't make sense in day to day life, then who is this law serving?
Carla continues: So we're back to our question from episode zero. Just how independent are our countries anyway? How much control can we as Caribbean people have over our lives, regardless of sexuality, gender, race and class had not Candacy and her core plaintiffs held their governments to account. Well, this part of Justice Saunders’ judgment begins to answer that question.
[Act 3] The Case’s Impact
00;16;51;05 - 00;20;31;18, [ARCHIVAL AUDIO] The Honorable Justice A. Saunders in Quincy Mc Ewan, et. al v. The Attorney General of Guyana: The CCJ considered the alleged violations of the appellants constitutional rights to equality and nondiscrimination and freedom of expression. And the CCJ also considered whether the impugned law offends the rule of law. The court also considered whether SASOD was a proper party to the proceedings and the propriety of the remarks of the magistrate In considering the constitutionality of the impugned section the court further examined the historical context surrounding its promulgation as part of the vagrancy laws of post Emancipation era. Second, preliminary issue considered was the effect of the savings law provision and whether the impugned law was an existing law, and if it was, whether it was therefore immune from judicial scrutiny because of the savings law provision. This was in fact the fundamental plank upon which the state defended the challenge to the constitutionality of the law.
Justice Saunders continues: The CCJ noted that until its recent decision in Nervais and the Queen and Severin and the Queen, it had been the conventional wisdom that the savings clause completely immunized pre-independence laws from being had to be in contravention of the human rights laid out in the Constitution. The courts below adopted the conventional wisdom. The majority judgment reiterated the court law and society are dynamic not static.A constitution must be read as a whole. Courts should be astute to avoid hindrances that would deter them from interpreting the Constitution in a manner faithful to its essence and its underlying spirit. If one part of the Constitution appears to run up against an individual's fundamental right, then in interpreting the Constitution as a whole, courts should place a premium on affording the citizen, his or her enjoyment of the fundamental right, unless there is some overriding public interest.
Justice Saunders continues: The court observed that the Co-operative Republic of Guyana is an indivisible, secular, democratic and sovereign nation, and its most precious civic values are laid out in the country's constitution. Article 149 Sabbatical one of the constitution protects the people of Guyana from discrimination and states that no one is to be treated in a discriminatory manner by any person acting in the performance of the functions of any public office or authority.
Justice Saunders continues:The Constitution further provides that the state shall not deny anyone equality before the law. The appellants contended that cross-dressing law infringed these constitutional guarantees because it is rooted in gender stereotypes of how women and men should dress. Government must acknowledge on its own accord when a law, especially one like the impugned section has long passed its sell by date and serves no social or legal purpose.
Justice Saunders continues: Having regard to all the opinions expressed the court allowed the appeal and declared that Section 153 subsection 1, subsection 47, violated the Appellant's right to equality and nondiscrimination and to their right to freedom of expression. The court held that the section is unconstitutional and offends the rule of law. The court ordered that the sections struck from the laws of Guyana and awarded costs to the appellants in this appeal and in the courts below.
00;20;31;21 - 00;20;45;08, Candacy: Thank God for the CCJ With such a good judges, the ruling was it and it was unconstitutional to keep it in play.
[Act 4] Interlude: Somatic Check-In
00;20;45;11 - 00;21;56;03, Carla: Chiiille mek we just take a break right yah suh and take one big deep breath. There's something I want you to feel your way through. What comes up for you hearing about this case? What is happening in your body, your mind, your heart and your spirit? Does this change how you think about your country or region or diaspora? Does this change how you think about our independence?
Carla continues: So to all a the attorney dem inna the audience, oonu take a hint nuh oonu pursue the likkle opening dem weh Justice Saunders lef open nuh. Let’s queer our laws please, or at least can we make our laws better in the ways that only queer folks can.
[Act 5] GTU as Organizers
Carla: Now let's turn back to Candacy, who tells us more about Guyana Trans United's organizing strategy programs and services, and even how they get their trans led organizing funding.
00;21;56;06 - 00;25;12;00, Candacy: In terms of the community that we've been serving. I remember getting into this response very early, trans persons was dying because of the lack of knowledge in terms of HIV. Some of us might have been HIV positive, and co-infected but don’t know where to go to have services. Persons being HIV positive or being sick, they don’t want to go to a healthcare site because of the perceived stigma when they go there or would have been meted out to them as sometime before they would’ve been sick.
Candidacy continues: So we had a lot of challenge comparing to now, that now we became an organization and providing these service. And even have social worker and person who from the general population assisting the other persons that work with us. So sometimes we do have peer educators who would be able to navigate persons from the community to alleviate some of the stigma.
Candidacy continues: If I should look back from when we start working to now, it might be a different change, because one of the thing when we started working in 2009 and in terms of mobilizing ourselves, myself have been appeared before the court for charged as male dressed in a female attire. It was a decade of court battle between myself and the government in terms of having the legislature to be changed that we were successful and went all the way to the Court, all the way to the CCJ our highest court.
Candidacy continues: However last - few months ago it was actually repealed into the Parliament to the law is also not on our books. So there's a lot of progress we've been doing, small baby steps. In terms of the community that we've been serving. I remember getting into this response very early.
Candidacy continues: Under USAID we have a social worker. So the social worker would work with the person, every client on their individual need, we do have a peer educator who would normally go out and do HIV services in term of prevention messages, help persons to be navigated to have a test if they’re required to have a test, they would screen them for STI and refer them to - there’s some STIs that we do personal, there’s some that we refer outside to the healthcare site to do.
Candidacy continues: We under the HIV program, we do a lot of awareness. We also do navigation once persons in the service found to be HIV positive. Then we enable to navigate to a treatment site. We are so with the social worker, who will continue to monitor the client that they will able to be on virus suppression in terms of having medication.
Candidacy continues: I remember in 2016, November 2016, we had three young trans woman I think with that was able to found their HIV status, in November, I could not forget that, I literally cried out because they were very young and one of the thing is that they could not take their medication home. Literally, we had the safe space at a time, and once they were able to come to the space at any given time, you were able to access the medication. They couldn't take the medication home because the fear and the stigma that would be attached to them.
00;25;12;02 - 00;25;26;29, Carla: I wonder if you heard that. Did you hear how safe spaces for work and shelter and just covering basic human needs come in for trans organizing.
00;25;27;02 - 00;29;11;17, Candacy: Funding has come to an end. It has come to an end. It was C.O.C. Initiative. It's come to an end. So the safe space is no longer, however though we at the office we able to create a room, because USAID is more about HIV, about numbers, is about founding persons with HIV positive, linking them, putting them into care and so be it, that is about USAID.
Candidacy continues: It is about donor driven number. What, what happened about the good thing about USAID they once they around, you able to pay the overhead you cover your rent, they pay the light bills and such forth.. So one of the thing is, is that because of that overall that they play a part, you able to do some cross-cutting issues as I would refer as.
Candidacy continues: So they don't know that I have a room in the office that if we have a real emergency case that a trans person could come and stay at, but we don’t have the space that we had because of the fact that USAID also they don’t, at one time when they were directly in Guyana we had an argument. We said, okay, people want to go on medication, they wanted to pick up their medication at the clinic because they would provide money to you to navigate the person once you found them HIV positive.
Candidacy continues: They would provide money to you to take them to the clinic, but it would not give the same by providing money to you to buy a bottle of water, or a soda are maybe a meal if the person at the clinic, because they said the link is that HIV is a chronic disease so you should treat it like if you treated diabetics. So they don't see the need that you should fund a safe space or a hot meal towards the client. So sometimes you have cases when we actually run in with them with it and then we were told - a back and forth - but then it was never really holistically supported by them having safe space and meals for client.
Candidacy continues: The HIV grant is about numbers, meeting the numbers. You have 500 and something person to meet in three months. No, I'm just being low. But it's like 800 and something worse. And it wouldn’t only be trans, it would be MSM, sex worker and trans, but you have to meet 800 and something persons but you have to meet those indicated.So it's about numbers with the other grants.
Candidacy continues: In terms of Astraea (Lesbian Foundation for Justice), which is that of an individual person, even though that the fund is small, you may be able to make an impact in the individual person life. So they would have cases where the person came up to us and wanted document to do for them, in terms of work certificate and we able to accommodate them. We able to pay the rent, like for instance there is a MSM person right now with co-infected HIV positive infected with TB but live on the street and we been navigating this person for years. And there's no other fund that we could’ve made to actually take out a money to say we can assist you in paying a rent for you actually for the next two weeks and whilst we in conversation with the ministry that assists in continuing to pay the rent
Candidacy continues: There’s no words to express the Astraea grant especially when we hit with the pandemic. So last year before our COC fund came to an end and the only grant we had when USAID also came to an end was the Astraea grant for last year. We were able to flexible, able to pay our rent, we were able to continue the work for actually a year, even with the pandemic it's the only flexible grant that we do have in terms of community needs and addressing community challenges.
00;29;11;19 - 00;30;11;15, Carla: In the interest of transparency, Astraea Foundation is one of the two funders of this podcast, and we did ask all of our participants what getting funding from our mutual funders - Astraea, Equality Fund alongside Global Affairs Canada, meant for them. We asked about specific funders so that we could change our relationship to funding transparency in pursuit of rebalancing power. So we never just waah come portray the funder them inna waah flattering light and gwaan like everything good, no, we deh yah fi talk the truth and the thing is each of our participants seemed very happy with their partnerships with Astraea and Equality Fund. So take note of your thoughts and your visions here, what type of funding do we deserve within the movement? And what is the best way we can envision funding our very important work?
00;30;11;18 - 00;31;17;03, Candacy: So one of the thing is, if I could able to change the mindset about this whole vulnerable groups of people that just including trans people and then we can able to literally see changes and a change in hearts and mind, as I said. So we have been for the longest - for a while now, we are able to go into police and do training, we are able to train the healthcare, we are able to go to the schools and train the teachers in teacher’s training college because - a lot of lack of knowledge. So the teacher might be smart they might be bright, but they don't know how to be able to deal with LGBT persons. And we’ve been able to go into those places and fo training, we were able to do family setting - so we had mother, we had father that came to GTU space where we do family support meeting for trans in terms of access - acceptance. So there's a lot of also training we've been doing, it’s not overnight is over a decade we've been doing this work.
00;31;17;05 - 00;31;33;03, Carla: For Candacy, the Sankofa link circles back to motherhood and family. This includes getting her family to a place of affirmation for her and her work.
00;31;33;05 -00;35;19;14, Candacy: What I can fairly said, I remember in my own personal experience growing up as a trans and I know myself from a very early age, I always share myself this, I know myself from maybe three year, nine months, and I had a aunt, assumingly at the particular time, maybe homophobic or transphobic, but I wouldn't use that word, but I always know she was literally used to shut me down she was said to me ‘You know me and you couldn't go by’ any little thing she would push me in the corner, because i’m always affirmative of my space from a very young age and she would said ‘you know me and you couldn’t go by’ but one of the thing that struck me, that aunt became my best aunt. She know lives in the States and I went to visit a few years I think was 2012. And I call her daughter because her daughter’s young and she maybe has more acceptance of LGBT because when we started the organization, she literally sent me the first computer and the first printer, when I said, I'm going to start my trans activist work.
Candidacy continues: And she send it. So when I was going to the States, I was going by her and she was by my cousin, which is her daughter. And I literally hear when she came to the airport she was inquiring to Lav, to my cousin, she said ‘Lavana, the parade finish? and my cousin say ‘what parade?’ hear she ‘the gay parade’ because they were living in that Eastern parkway at that particular time, she said ‘oh God Quincy come at such a wrong time that he woulda enjoy the parade’ and I was taken by surprise. So now this particular aunt… that I didn't even walk with female clothes at that particular time in my suitcase…want to carry me to this gay parade. So I was beginning to say the little that you do is changing heart and mind and I’ve been seeing that for years and not only with my family setting but a lot of family we’re able to work with.
Candidacy continues: Once we start doing to work and start mobilizing our people, our people will start to be empowered. I'm glad that we actually, found an organizing shop because when we look at it work that we look back from now, the then persons are more comfortable in seeking healthcare services, persons are more independent so to speak. Especially for the trans community.
Candidacy continues: I think when I started the work, the passion behind the works that still remain there in terms of many trans persons, would not able, now experience of coming out, would not able to migrate, in terms of when their family throw them out and if you dont have a space or structure for them it would create more challenge. For the gates that GTU opened it propelled me to keep the doors open cause many trans persons coming out on a daily and many trans persons when theycame out they don’t come with family support and its very impossible that if you dont have an organization such as GTU or any other trans led organization it might be ten times difficult in terms of our cost of living, in terms of space, in terms of medications, in terms of empowerment, so much keep me to the work and continue to stay here and for some
Candidacy continues: So much I keep me to do to work and continue to stay here and for some reason or the other, I wanted to move on and allow younger trans which I’m continue to work with younger trans persons in terms of empowering and building the capacity to take over leadership role, but it’s important for the door to keep open.
00;35;19;17 - 00;36;11;27, Carla: And so the Sankofa link continues, working through interdependence together and through one another onto New Horizons. Like Sankofa, organizations such as Candacy her co-plaintiffs. Her clients on her community have always been here, in our Caribbean.
Sealing this Episode
Carla: Colin Robinson, the ancestral guide of this podcast supported Candacy on her co-plaintiffs in this case, Stick a pin here If you don't know about Colin, please go back and listen to episode one.
Carla continues: When Candacy talks about Colin? You can hear the grin on her face. The lightness that comes with her remembrances.
00;36;12;00 - 00;37;29;19, Candacy: It would’ve been quite impossible for any young trans LGBT person. Especially get into the field of advocacy and I was not able to work with Colin. Colin was a loving soul. I think Colin was a great mentor. I remember going to a meeting and get stuck in Trinidad and called back home and I didn't know who to get on to and somebody called Colin and Colin flew to the airport, the first time I would’ve met with Colin.
Candidacy continues: Colin was such a wonderful soul, even to the US State Department grant that we first received it was coming through CariFlag at the time so CariFlag . But there were some hiccups in the way before it get to CVC, all the planning and getting the proposal for GTU to get it ready to work out and fine tune back and forth.
Candidacy continues: We didn't have the experience to put it in the proposal together. Kudos! Oh my God Colin is such a wonderful soul. I don't think no young trans or LGBT person who in the world advocacy would’ve not experienced or know about Colin and his work.
00;37;29;21 - 00;37;38;26, Carla: Candacy first found affirmation in her gender identity from another elder her mother, that nice eeh!
00;37;38;28 - 00;39;39;05, Candacy: And one of the beauty thing about me and why I go back to family setting. I'm the second child for my mum, which was nine of us, and I had a lot of support from my siblings because growing up as a single, my mom was a single mom and I played the other role. So I had very support from my sibling growing up with them, we shared a love and a connection and the bond.
Candacy continues: I remember at one time my mom and her sister, because we were sharing the space with my grandmother, my two other and the children. And I remember one of my aunt at the time was saying to my mom, ‘Are you not going to beat this way out of Candacy? you eee this kind of trade and expression? And I heard my mother, they weren't speaking to me because at night we had to go into our bed and they were discussing, I would have they would family chat and her sister was saying that to her and I remember my mom saying, ‘I'm not going to cut my belly, pull out my guts and throw it away then stuff it with grass, I can’t survive’. What she was saying there and then it's my child and I'm not going to deny my child love and right.
Candidacy continues: So I grew up with that privilege that has the love. Even though we weren't rich [indiscernible] what we had, the family love, we had a connection. And I didn't let my aunt know what my mom said to her or the conversation, I never repeated because I was a child and I could not repeating big people conversation. But it built the courage and the courage for me to fight my fear because there and then it was saying to me…I wasn’t in pampers neither, I wasn’t going out and flaunt to say ok, i know I have the support from my family but it build something in me and that it one of the message we continue to work with trans family.
00;39;39;07 - 00;40;24;04 [CREDITS] Carla: This episode was produced by Rebel Women Lit and Queerly Stated with support from Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice, Equality Fund and Global Affairs Canada. Research on Writing by Jacqui Brown, Script Editing and Project Management by Dave-Ann Moses, Editing and Sound by Jherane Patmore and Safiyah Chinere, and Outreach by Ashley Dalley. Remember to head on over to the show notes to find the details of the organizers featured in our episode and Rebelwomenlit.com for additional references.
Carla closes: Thank you so much for joining me. Your host, Carla Moore, Under The Sycamore Tree …