WHIT STAYS IN CALIFORNIA

Please support our dear friend Whit in their/his process of navigating expensive, beauracratic processes to stay in California. Whit moved here to be closer to their/his biological family and to be with his chosen queer family and support network. Their/his ability to stay here is an integral part of their/his process of decolonization. Living in the Bay Area is giving Whit the ability to be a part of empowered Mexican, Indigenous, and QTPOC communities that they/he has been isolated from since their/his family moved from Mexico to western Canada when he was 8. Whit staying here also means that they/he has support from queer and trans accomplices and that he can be close to people who have his back. Financially helping Whit to stay here is a direct act of solidarity. Whit is currently unable to legally obtain compensation for their/his labor, but with your support to acquire legal status,  the options of resources will open up more opportunities for them to support themself financially and independently. Whit is an invaluable part of our family and we are in solidarity with him having agency over where he lives, instead of his place of residence being dictated by white supremacy and racist border regimes.

As part of Whit's chosen family, we are asking for your support. Asking Whit's biological family for support and financial assistance is not an option due to homophobia and transphobia. Simultaneously, having the stability of legality and living in California will make it possible for Whit to visit their/his family in Mexico whom he is attempting to maintain relationships with. Any fundraising support you are able to offer is greatly appreciated!

Whit has recently published a zine on the process of this change and recovery from addiction based on healing from the trauma of different margins including  diaspora, racism, violence, transphobia, and poverty. The zine is a collection of writing and images from this transition, inspired by other Mestizo/Chicana queer writers, including Cherrie Moraga and Gloria Anzaldua. If you are able to donate, you will receive a complimentary copy of GOODWASTE zine.

"The struggle is inner: Chicano, indio, American Indian, mojado, mexicano, immigrant Latino, Anglo in power, working class Anglo, Black, Asian--our psyches resemble the bordertowns and are populated by the same people. The struggle has always been inner, and is played out in outer terrains. Awareness of our situation must come before inner changes, which in turn come before changes in society. Nothing happens in the "real" world unless it first happens in the images in our heads.”
― Gloria E. Anzaldúa