Word Up welcomes acclaimed writer Caro de Robertis to celebrate So Many Stars: An Oral History of Trans, Nonbinary, Genderqueer, and Two-Spirit People of Color, a first-of-its-kind, deeply personal, and moving oral history of a generation of trans and gender nonconforming elders of color who tell their own stories of breathtaking courage, cultural innovations, and acts of resistance. In conversation with de Robertis will be Denne Michele Norris, author of When the Harvest Comes.
Word Up is partnering with The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center, commonly called The Center, a nonprofit organization serving the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender population of New York City and nearby communities. Donated copies of SO MANY STARS will be distributed to students in The Center’s READY program, which gives workplace training and experience to 45 high schoolers around New York.* Their job placement sites are all vetted to ensure a safe and nurturing queer-friendly environment for their first step into the workforce. Some of these sites include: Word Up Community Bookstore, BRUJAS skate company, Bronx Botanical Gardens, Broadway for the Arts, Animal Care Centers of New York, Brooklyn Public Library, and Generation Q in Queens. Some of READY's goals are to offer support throughout each learning curve of a youth's first job, budgeting throughout their first paychecks, advocating for themselves as employees, and being able to enter their next internship/job/or college as seamlessly as possible. Most of all, the purpose of READY is to build confidence in the youth participating in the internship who are entering young adulthood.