Collaborators in conversation: gender identity, performance, prisons and displacement, 2012 October 05

This video is restricted and cannot be viewed on the HRDI site. Session is conducted in both English and Spanish. In this session, panelists from three community collaborations – Conspire Theatre, Polochic Evictions Counteraction, and the Transgender Jail Project—introduce their organization, how their organization developed, and the intersections between their organizations and human rights issues. The Polochic Evictions Counteraction is represented by two representatives from the 12 Q’eqchi’ communities, Heather Teague and Mayra Gómez. The two Q’eqchi’ representatives detail the violent evictions experienced within their communities and the steps that are being taken to achieve justice for the displaced communities. Matt Richardson and Priscilla Hale, the representatives for the Transgender Jail Project, explain the origins of the project and the difficulties faced by transgender individuals (primarily male assigned-at-birth persons) and the prison system’s failure to offer adequate resources and advocacy for incarcerated transgender persons. Priscilla Hale discusses a survey provided by the Transgender Jail Project to Texas jails to assess their familiarity with transgender issues and their housing policies related to gender-nonconforming individuals. Conspire Theatre, represented by Caoimhe McAvinchey, Katherine Craft, and Michelle Dahlenburg; discusses the initial foundation of the organization and the theatre-based workshops provided by the organization to women in incarceration and the prison system. Panelists answer questions from the audience regarding issues of human rights, advocacy, the prison system, and interacting with local communities/governments to enact change. [RT 01:53:17]