Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honour to interview Deja Nicole Greenlaw, an inspirational American transgender activist and advocate. Hello Deja!
Deja: Hello Monika!
Monika: Could you say a few words about your activism and yourself?
Deja: I have lobbied in government buildings in Washington DC and Hartford, Connecticut for trans rights but I believe that my biggest and most important activism is being out at work and having many people interact with me.
I deal with many people from several departments in a manufacturing environment and with hundreds of manufacturing plants all over the globe. Anyone who interacts with me can say that they know a transgender person and working with one is not an issue. If someone they know say something negative about transgender people they can refute it because they have first hand experience with working with me.
For the majority of the people I work with, I am the first transgender person that they have ever met. A few of them may have had issues with me in the beginning but now they are all very accepting of me.
The same goes for the community that I live in, the stores that I patronize, the doctors and staffs that I interact with. They all know a transgender person. By being open and out and about I am helping to change people’s thoughts about transgender people. I believe that is my greatest contribution to activism.
The same goes for the community that I live in, the stores that I patronize, the doctors and staffs that I interact with. They all know a transgender person. By being open and out and about I am helping to change people’s thoughts about transgender people. I believe that is my greatest contribution to activism.