Denechia “Neesha” Powell-Twagirumukiza is a 2009 graduate of the University of Georgia who lives in Seattle. On Twitter, she describes herself thus: “Displaced Southern queer millennial womanist organizer/writer growing roots in the PNW. They & she pronouns.” Powell has a lesbian wife, Aimée-Josiane Twagirumukiza, an African immigrant who is a founding member of “QTPAX (The Queer and Trans Pan African Exchange), an intergenerational program that works to connect queer and trans people of all ages.” Powell is a writer for the website Everyday Feminism where in January she published this:

4 Ways Queer And Trans Parents

Are Raising Revolutionary Children

During The Trump Era

Sometimes becoming a parent feels out of my reach. My wife and I both have uteruses, and sperm costs too damn much.

Even adopting feels like an unattainable dream. It can cost upwards of $40,000 to adopt, and LGBTQ couples have previously been barred from adopting and fostering because of their gender and/or sexuality.

Raising kids on working-class salaries here in Seattle, one of the world’s most expensive cities, isn’t exactly ideal. And despite its progressive reputation, this white haven often feels hostile to me as a Black queer non-binary person partnered with a Black queer femme immigrant. . . .

Despite my fears, I remain open to parenting because of my friendships with trans, non-binary, and queer activists of color whose parenting is bound up in their quest for liberation. Their existence dares me to dream of parenting one day.

These parents are turning this tumultuous political moment into teachable one by talking to their kids about oppression: What it is, how it manifests and how to interrupt it. Their parenting is rooted in intersectional feminist and anti-racist values. . . .

Selena Velasco, a Chamoru queer non-binary femme artist and community organizer in Seattle, explains Trump and his discriminatory policies to their 8-year-old multiracial son Elijah by bringing the issues close to home.

To help Elijah understand Trump’s recent immigration ban, Velasco asked him to imagine how he’d feel if his grandparents who immigrated from Mexico had to leave the US and couldn’t come back. This allowed him to better empathize with those directly impacted by the ban.

Also, Velasco has brought their son to Black Lives Matter marches and spoken with him about how anti-Black racism shows up at his own school. Their hope is for Elijah to be able to spot and disrupt anti-Blackness on the playground and beyond. . . .

Shaun is a Black queer non-binary parent and researcher in Seattle who keeps it real with their child about this turbulent political era. While their 4-year-old daughter V doesn’t know Trump’s name, she knows what he’s doing isn’t right due to her parents’ longtime activism.

Shaun’s daughter, who’s mixed with Black and white, already knows that police are harmful. . . .

Well, you can read the whole thing if you want to know what’s going on in the lives of typical Democrat voters lately.

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