Family, we have exciting news!!

As many of you know, TGIJP has been in the search for a permanent space for many years. More than anything, we have been looking for a space that can hold our vision of a Black Trans Cultural Center and political home for TGIJP community members – to ensure Black Trans people had stakes, ownership and stability within the city we helped to build, San Francisco. Our hearts have been determined!

We are happy to report that after several years of this determination, we have found the space we want to call Home and have made an offer to purchase a beautiful, *three-story* building. Family, our offer has been accepted!!

But this is just the beginning of our quest to buy this building. In order to make it truly possible, TGIJP is launching “A Building for Resistance, Resilience, and Reclamation” Capital Campaign: a 5 million dollar fundraising campaign to support the purchase of this building as our new, permanent home in San Francisco! This is a meaningful step for TGIJP and a historical step for all Black Trans, Gender-Variant and Intersex folks!

This is the vision we have been grounded in since the founding of TGIJP and through the love of thousands of black trancestors helping protect and guide the way. This is the fruit of the labor of our lineage– our founder Alexander Lee, our first Executive Director Miss. Major Griffin-Gracy, our current Executive Director Miss. Sharyn Grayson, and our CEO Miss. Janetta Johnson!

For over 18 years, TGIJP has been focused on working to end human rights abuses against transgender, gender-variant and intersex people in California prisons and beyond. Our office space has traditionally been a site for community members to come in directly and connect with staff, broader community, access housing, healthcare, financial resources and more in a safe, nurturing, and culturally affirming environment.

TGIJP has struggled for years to secure stable office and community space in the city as it continues to gentrify– pushing Black folks further into the East Bay and Trans folks away from the very place we’ve historically built community and accessed life-saving, gender-affirming services. Additionally, TGIJP can no longer afford a physical space that cannot meet our communities growing needs. This has become even more critical and apparent since the rise of the global COVID-19 pandemic, which has especially impacted the wellness of our community members recently released from prison and/or getting off the streets.

Donate Here

Your generous support toward A Building for Resistance will allow TGIJP to:

Purchase and develop the space into a Black trans cultural center that supports our leadership development and wellbeing.

Provide new and stable housing and employment opportunities made by Black TGI people, for Black TGI people.

Build a community space for TGI people to access deeper community connections, resources, and direct services as well as an office and coworking space.

Renovate parts of the building to build out a laundry room and provide this as a service and opportunity for employment.

Our community has always had the solutions to create conditions for us to thrive and we need your support to see this vision through. We hope you will join us and continue to follow the campaign for updates as we embark on this new journey together.
Thank you family,

Be Safe and Stay Strong