11
I Am
I am, my Mother, her kindness and her smile.
I am, my Father, his face, his intelligence, and his legacy.
I am, my Ancestors, their tanned skin, their culture, and their future.
I am, a Journey, a sudden force with many paths ahead
I am, Music, free, loving, and powerful.
I am, a Disease, perceived as such by those who life granted them status from birth.
I am, the Burden carried by my people, the stigma, the misinformation, and the path for change.
I am, my lack of Gender, a clean slate unto which I shall draw my life as I see fit.
I am but the sum of my parts, and then some.
I am Queer, Brown, and Proud.
And I am alive.
JJ is a trans Afro-Latinx from The Bronx, New York. After years of struggling with their identity, they've finally began the journey to discovering themselves, loving their skin, and fighting back the rampant xenophobia, racism, misogyny and homophobia in the Afro-Latinx community. They're also fueled by coffee, white people that can move their hips, and music.