Her Grace, the Duchess of Grant Park and the State of the Prismatic Queerdom in 2022
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
21 November 2022
ST. MARSHA’S COURT
[Transcript/
My loyal subjects, if I could say one thing to you, it would be to prepare.
We have witnessed unprecedented change over the past few years. This year alone saw an alarming eradication of progress previously made. We have our work cut out for us.
And we have seen that we should not expect help from our institutions — both private and governmental.
Therefore, the challenge remains — how do we form sustainable communities in which we are able to support each other, provide a safety net, and create the lives and families we wish without outside interference on our personal liberties and most importantly our personal safety?
Our duty remains to engage in our civic duties by voting, and local elections remain most important. But outside of our contractual civic duties as citizens of this country and of our states and local municipalities, we must examine the duties we have to each other, especially as members of the queer community.
According to the William’s Institute at UCLA’s School of Law, which focuses on LGBTQ issues, there are approximately 113 million people in the Southeast. 4.1 million of which are LGBTQ. 507,000 of which are transgender. And 55,000 transgender persons in the state of Georgia alone.
I state these facts to say that I remain steadfast in my devotion to all queer people, but especially the queer people of color in the southeastern united states, beginning with my community in Georgia. As I work to build this duchy and this queerdom, I remain resolved in my efforts to find ways to create a sovereign wealth fund for us as queer people, in hopes that over time we may build an institution of our own making that addresses our specific needs of education, housing, healthcare, safety, and employment.
As a modern society, we have the means to address these issues, and I will continue to devote my time and energy to creating a solution for us all. A homeland for us. A place of refuge and respite.
I am led by the quote from the Christian bible, “My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” While I am not well versed in the bible, this is a verse and image I come back to time and time again. It is the place I dream of, a place of safety, of refuge, and of respite for my people. My queer people. My queer people are held captive in an increasingly hostile nation and world.
My sincerest hope is to make the Southeastern United States a better place for us. It is the culture I know, the culture I have grown up in, and a place I have come to love, faults and all. In Atlanta, we are fortunate to have the support of the city, led by the Honorable Andre Dickens as Mayor and with our honorable cousin Malik Brown as the director of the City of Atlanta’s LGBTQ Affairs. The City of Atlanta continues to prove itself as a bastion of safety for those who can make it.
But, as a people, we still need ways to increase our own autonomy. To continue to find new ways to celebrate our people, especially as they discover who they are and reveal their honest self to the world. I, for one, would love to meet them, and find a reason to celebrate them, which is why I am undertaking the task to create the first Queer Debutante Ball. More details to come, but it is my sincerest wish to see this take place in 2023.
My long-term initiative for the next 40 years is to help create a queer endowment fund/sovereign wealth fund. Unfortunately, so many of the troubles that ail our community devolve into matters of access and matters of money. After 5 years, with a $1 Billion dollar endowment, the dividends could support the salaries for a community of approximately 750 people. A billion-dollar endowment can allow for infrastructure building, in the form of housing, healthcare, the creation of a university, an arts center, clinics and hospitals, a bank, and more. It will not happen overnight. But it can happen. This is my pledge, if I live to see the next 40 years, is to leave a legacy that helps my people. While I have not taken a public vow yet, in the form of a coronation, I still honor my own personal vow every time I place a tiara or crown on my head — what can I do to help queer people in the Southeast. Especially queer, trans, and nonbinary people of color.
My loyal subjects, if I could say one thing to you, it would be to prepare.
We do not know what the future holds for us in this country, but it is more important now than ever that we remember we are united, and stronger together as a community. While we may differ in our approaches, we all have a shared common vision of safety and being able to lead the lives we envision for ourselves. And so, we will prepare to make that dream and future a reality. And I hold the dream of building a house, a land, a place that has many rooms in which I hopefully prepare for you.
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