We Are Everywhere, Y'all:
A Conversation About Preserving Trans Histories in Atlanta
The inaugural panel explored the history and activism of Transgender communities in the Southeast, featuring Professor Kadji Amin of Emory University, DeeDee Chamblee of LaGender Inc, and archivist Morna Gerrard of Georgia State University’s Special Collections, moderated by project co-founder, Sam Landis.
The virtual program was held on November 17th, 2021 @ 7 PM EST
The program is available to watch on Youtube below. Stay tuned for future programming coming in 2022.
Panelists & Moderator:
Dee Dee Chamblee
DeeDee Chamblee is the executive director and founder of La Gender Inc., a non-profit organization led by African-American trans women that empowers, and lifts up the spirits of transgender women of color in the metro Atlanta area.
Ms. Chamblee is a survivor and advocate, living with HIV/AIDS for 25 years. Ms. Chamblee founded La Gender in 2001 to address the unique needs of the transgender community surrounding issues such as HIV/AIDS, homelessness, incarceration, mental health wellness, discrimination, and hate crime violence.
Sam Landis (Moderator)
Samuel Landis is the creative lead at The National Center for Civil and Human Rights. They have a background in a variety of marketing & design agencies, non-profits, and corporate and higher education environments. They moved to Atlanta to attend Savannah College of Art and Design where they received their BFA and graduated Magna Cum Laude. While there, they were president of SCAD Atlanta’s LGBTQ student organization. They are currently an LGBTQ Institute Fellow & Co-Founder of the Atlanta LGBTQ History Project.
Kadji Amin
Kadji Amin is an Associate Professor of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Emory University. He is the recipient of a Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship in “Sex” from the University of Pennsylvania and a Humanities Institute Faculty Fellowship from Stony Brook University. His book, Disturbing Attachments: Genet, Modern Pederasty, and Queer History (Duke 2017) won an Honorable Mention for best book in LGBT studies from the GL/Q Caucus of the Modern Language Association. He is currently at work on a second book on “Trans Empiricism.”
Morna Gerrard
Morna Gerrard is the Women’s / Gender & Sexuality Collections Archivist in Special Collections and Archives at the Georgia State University Library. She serves on the National Center for Civil and Human Rights’ LGBTQ Institute Advisory Board, the Historic Atlanta LGBTQ HPAC board, and from 2011-2018, was the vice president of the Georgia LGBTQ Archives Project. She has published a number of articles and chapters, including, “No Fame Required: Collaboration, Community, and the LGBTQ Archives Project,” in Appraisal and Acquisition: Innovative Practices for Archives and Special Collections, “Exploring Gender Roles in Society, Literature, and Film,” in Gender Studies in the Library: Case Studies, Programming, Outreach, and "ACTing UP Down South," in the Alexander Street Press Women and Social Movements in the U.S., 1600-Present electronic journal.