Transgender Leadership in the House & Ballroom Scene

In the 1970s, a Black transgender women named Crystal LaBeija started the very first “House” in the Ballroom Scene, it was deemed the legendary “House of LeBeija.” This historic moment launched and solidified the contemporary House and Ballroom Scene (HBS). Not only was the HBS founded by a Black transgender woman, but it was created in response to elevated discrimination and trans-misogynoir that Black transgender women and gender non-conforming individuals experience far too often. Thus, it is only appropriate for the Keeping Ballroom Community Alive Network (KBCAN) to further the often marginalized Black radical tradition of transgender leadership by launching the fourth cohort of Crystal LaBeija Organizing Fellowship (CLOF). The Crystal LaBeija Organizing Fellowship (CLOF) is an intensive, 1-year fellowship, open to all Black and Brown, trans, gender non-conforming, and non-binary individuals who belong to the ballroom community.
CLOF aims to empower 4 fellows across the nation to address the issues impacting the lives of transgender women, transgender men, gender non-conforming, and non-binary people in the house ball community via community building, economic empowerment, advocacy, and activism through wellness and social justice lenses. The goal is to address the issues that most impact the lives of transgender women, transgender men and gender non-conforming people in the ballroom community.

Applications will be accepted from October 15th to November 15th, 2021.