Destination Tomorrow, the only center for LGBTQ+ people in New York City run by trans people of color, celebrated its 15th anniversary with a gala on Nov. 1, just four days before Donald Trump was re-elected president while running anti-transgender ads.
The mood was urgent, and passionate at Above the Heights in Manhattan’s Washington Heights neighborhood. The 2024 Republican nominee’s campaign included extensive anti-trans rhetoric. including, among other things, a promise to use executive orders to cut federal funding for trans-inclusive schools, a federal ban on gender-affirming care for minors, and a rollback of Title IX protections for trans people. Trump also endorsed a series of ads that criticized gender diversity with the slogan “Kamala Harris is for they/them – Donald Trump is for you.”
Destination Tomorrow, founded in 2009, is a grassroots agency that provides critical services to queer and trans people in New York. The Mott Haven headquarters serves over twenty thousand people every year, and the organization has expanded across New York and to Atlanta.
The workers and volunteers at Destination Tomorrow provide key medical, emotional, and practical services, and help people find shelters and food pantries, sexual health services, art therapy groups, and access to other services.
The gala was named “The Angie Awards,” after Angie Infiniti Monserrate, member of the community and South Bronx Ballroom scene, and a longtime friend of Destination Tomorrow founder and CEO Sean Coleman. They originally met in the ballroom community, both walking in the “realness” category. “Angie was a proud member of the South Bronx queer community, looking out for not just her “House” members but all queer folks that crossed her path,” said Coleman.
“We’re honoring the legendary Angie. She’s the person that actually inspired Sean to be the wonderful, resourceful individual that he already is,” said Star Woods, education coordinator at Destination Tomorrow, “really putting the battery in his back to continue doing the work that we’re doing right now.” A moment of silence was held for Angie, as well as out of respect for other members of the community who had passed away.
Held at Above The Heights hotel in Harlem, the gala featured a ballroom performance from The Iconic House of Miyake Mugler, led by Father Arturo Miyake Mugler. The Destination Tomorrow team welcomed community members as well as representatives from partners including Pride & Trans at Google and Montefiore Einstein Hospital.
There were four honorees at the event, including Angelica Ross, TransTech founder, POSE and American Horror Story actress and transgender rights activist. Ross announced to the crowd her plans for a future run for office.
“I need you to trust me that I will always be for my people. From the beginning, to the middle, to wherever this is going, you can always hold me accountable,” she said.“One of the things we need is not just visibility, but people who are willing to be accountable to their communities.”
She expressed her hopes that trans people will one day be able to focus more on their dreams, hopes, and talents, rather than on a fight for survival or social legitimacy, and emphasized the importance of service, connection, and recognizing the work of people who laid the groundwork.
“I only have as much power as my community is willing to share with me,” she said.
The honorees also included Vanessa L. Gibson, the first woman and African American Bronx Borough President. Gibson was the first official to raise the Trans flag to recognize Transgender Day Of Visibility in the Bronx in March this year.
President of the Latino Commission on AIDS, Guillermo Chacon also received an Angie Award. Chacon is also the founder of the Hispanic Health Network, and has served on the United States Presidential Advisory Council on HIV and AIDS since 2021. He congratulated Coleman and the center, saying – “it’s not just Destination Tomorrow, it’s Destination Forever.”
The final honoree was Junior LaBeija, Paris is Burning icon and star of the recent ballroom adaptation of Cats, The Jellicle Ball. LaBeija might be recognized from his iconic catchphrases like “Category is…” and “tens tens tens” – which have now gained mainstream popularity on the show Ru Paul’s Drag Race. He said that the main thing learned from his 52 years immersed in ballroom is that “ignorance allied with power is the most ferocious enemy justice can have.” He urged patience and determination in the community’s fight for justice. “Don’t be deterred by politicians. I have been escorted to the nuthouse, and escorted to the White House.”
In a statement on November 6th – Coleman said “Americans across the country are fearing for their safety and the safety of their loved ones. As a Black Trans activist, I have dedicated my entire life to advocating for and protecting Black and LGBTQ+ people, and it is heartbreaking to see the progress which we traded our blood, sweat and tears for gutted in one night.
“I see, hear and share in your despair,” the statement continued. As we take the time we need to grieve and process, I encourage every American to think through their plan in order to turn their despair into seeds for action. LGBTQ+ people, communities of color, immigrants and migrants, we need each other now more than ever. Our lives matter, our dreams matter – they will never take away our hope and our ability to build collective power and fight back.”
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