Activists Need To Get Paid,Too

There's an interesting thread and discussion going on at Pam's House Blend which was triggered by a letter Texas Tech student Nonnie Ouch wrote to the Dallas Voice complaining about Lt. Dan Choi's speaking fees and agent.

So what does the TransGriot have to say on the subject?

Activists need to get paid, too. Even Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. got paid for his speeches and essays.

It's hard to do activism if you're worried about keeping a job, a roof over your head, clothes on your back and food in your cupboard.

Add to that in my case the expenses for a gender transition. While most of the heavy lifting in my case has been done, I still have to get hormones and do femme maintenance.

Bear in mind also that if you're holding a job in corporate America, the wingers aren't above fracking with our employment to disrupt our lives if they get the opportunity to do so as I found out the hard way.

It costs money to travel, do conferences, get passports for international conference travel or international speaking engagements, eat, or stay in your state capital or DC hotels to lobby.

Hotel rates get raised in your state capital when the legislature is in session. DC definitely isn't cheap, even if you chop expenses by staying in a budget motel near a METRO line in Maryland or Virginia and ride the subway into DC to the Capitol South Station. METRO passes still cost money.

Money is one of the issues related to why you don't see many POC's speaking at conferences or involved in GLBT activism. Bigotry, transphobia and class privilege is another. The big white dominated inside I-495 orgs don't hire us, and that's especially true for transpeople.

But that's another post.

We TBLG people of color don't get called or asked very often to speak at various events, be it on college campuses, LGBT conventions or just to speak to a college class on GLBT issues.

In my case, I'm a Trinity Award winning activist who has been active since 1998. I can not only authoritatively talk about the intersection of trans issues with the African American community,I can discuss trans history and current events easily as well amongst many others. I've had an announcement on this blog's sidebar for two years about my willingness to speak at those events inside and outside the TBLG community as well, and my phone or e-mail doesn't get blown up as much as I would like it to.

I don't ask for much. I don't mind traveling in coach, staying in budget motels, on campus or even people's homes to help cut costs. If it's for certain trans events such as a TDOR, I don't ask for my speaking fee.

But if you feel like what I have to say is important enough for Moni to be there live and in living color, then respect me and my time by paying for it.

Because if you don't or won't, somebody else will.

But don't think because I have this blog I'm making tons of money. I wish that were the case.

This is a social justice, educational and political commentary blog. In the blogosphere those types of blogs don't make the kind of money a pop culture one does. I get almost 2500 readers a day, many of them repeat readers, and not enough love in the TransGriot tip jar button in the left hand sidebar.

If just 1/10 of the daily readers that visit here left me as little as $5 on a consistent basis it would give me and other social justice bloggers and activists some regular income to do some things,

I'm just getting to the point where I have built up a body of work to where I get honoraria. I'm not anywhere near Dan Choi or Sarah Palin levels, but it's deeply appreciated when it's offered and I receive it. I plow it back into living my life and keeping TransGriot alive.

But if you want your activists front and center out there doing the work to combat the Forces of Intolerance and create a better liberal-progressive world, the reality is we need to get paid so we can comfortably live our lives and fight for you full time.

I'd love to be able to hone my skills at a Creating Change or lobby in Austin or Washington when needed. But to do that, the GLBT community and the progressive movement in general is going to have to get out of this mindset that activism requires a vow of poverty.

Because right now, we're facing an uphill battle fighting a war against enemies who are fully funded. Their only job is to spend their workdays thinking of creative ways to deny you your civil rights,  lie on the network talking head shows and get paid handsomely for doing so.