Interview with Lady Dane Figueroa Edidi

Lady Dane Figueroa Edidi is an artist, activist, and visionary whose life and work defy boundaries. She is of Nigerian, Cuban, and Indigenous American heritage and has built a career as an actress, singer, dancer, writer, radio host, oracle, healer, and teacher. Known as the Ancient Jazz Priestess of Mother Africa, a title given to her for the timeless power of her performances, she has carried her ancestral legacy into every note she sings and every word she writes. Lady Dane is also a pioneer, becoming the first trans woman of color in Washington DC to publish a work of fiction, breaking barriers in literature while uplifting the voices of those too often silenced. Her novels, poetry, and cabaret performances reveal her devotion to storytelling as an act of resistance, remembrance, and love. Whether honoring her birthplace in Baltimore: A Love Letter, weaving spiritual narratives in Yemaya’s Daughters, or conjuring new magical worlds in her Ghetto Goddess Series, she demonstrates how fiction and poetry can both heal and empower. Her artistic vision is inseparable from her activism. Lady Dane serves as a leader in the Trans Women of Color Collective, one of the few organizations founded and led by Black trans women.

 

Through this work she has championed healing circles, housing initiatives, employment programs, and community empowerment, all while challenging systemic oppression and centering the narratives of those most affected. Her efforts have taken her to the White House, her name has appeared on the prestigious 2015 Trans 100 list, and she continues to use every platform available to advocate for justice, healing, and liberation. At the same time, she collaborates with Casa Ruby, a safe haven and lifeline for LGBTQ people, reflecting her belief that love, care, and community are the foundations of survival. Lady Dane has never been content to accept stereotypes or limitations placed on trans people by mainstream culture. She insists on the authenticity of trans-created art and challenges the reductive portrayals often imposed by cisgender writers and Hollywood. For her, being a trans artist is not just a label but a sacred role, a reconnection to the reverence once held for gender-diverse people by indigenous ancestors. In both her art and her advocacy, she embraces love as a force of eternity and healing as a revolutionary act. She is a beacon for younger generations of trans people, encouraging them to know that they are more than enough and that their very existence is part of a rich, unstoppable legacy. Today it is my honor to speak with Lady Dane about her journey, her creativity, and her vision for a more just and beautiful world.

 

Monika: Lady Dane Figueroa Edidi is a Nigerian, Cuban, and Indigenous American actress, singer, dancer, writer, radio host, oracle, healer, and teacher. She made history as the first trans woman of color in Washington DC to publish a work of fiction, serves on the leadership team of the Trans Women of Color Collective, and was recognized in the 2015 Trans 100, which honors trans people whose work has had a positive impact on communities across the United States. Hello Dane!

Dane: Hi Monika, how are you? 

Dane's book and herself.

 

Monika: I am fine, thank you. You are a woman of many talents, and I would like to begin with one of your greatest gifts, your singing. You have been called the Ancient Jazz Priestess of Mother Africa. 

Dane: I have. I was given that title a while ago when I was very young, and a powerful medium was reading my aura as I performed. He said, “You are a priestess of Mother Africa.” People have said that there is a timelessness about the way I perform. I really honor ancestors and their voices, and most of the music I sang during that period of my life was jazz. My aunt Liz is a jazz singer and my mama and all her sisters sing, so in time, the title Ancient Jazz Priestess of Mother Africa became a crown I happily wear.
Monika: You are also an accomplished writer. Could you tell me about your first novel, Yemaya’s Daughters (2013), and the story you wanted to share with it?

Dane: Well, one book of poetry and two novels. Yemaya's Daughters was my first published novel in 2013. It is about a trans priestess named Inanna and her sisters, as well as Maryam, the Mother of Jesus. Maryam's story takes place in the past and Inanna's story takes place in the present. The overarching theme is the way colonization affects indigenous cultures.

Monika: You followed this with Baltimore: A Love Letter. What inspired you to write this collection of poetry?

Dane: My second book is a book of poetry. It was written as an ode to my birthplace as well as a defiance piece against the media that was attempting to malign the resistance in Baltimore. There are poems of revolution and love as well. I wanted to take back the narrative that paints Baltimore as the scourge of the states. There is so much magic there and so many beautiful people and art. I feel the government abandoned Baltimore, and what we are left with is a city of tears. This book was me controlling my own narrative and celebrating the hidden beauty of the city and those I love.

Monika: Your third book, Brew, is the beginning of the Ghetto Goddess Series. What kind of world and characters did you want to create with it?

Dane: It is the first of the Ghetto Goddess Series and it takes place in Baltimore. It is about a trans mother and daughter who are witches. I grew up loving Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Bewitched, Charmed, Scarlet Witch, and Zatanna, but I really wanted to see a woman like me, living where I lived, in magical situations, doing magical things. So I said instead of waiting for this story to be written, I should just write it myself. I am currently working on Keeper, Book II.
Monika: Cabaret has played an important role in your artistic journey. How did you first begin producing your own shows?

Dane: I began even before I turned seventeen because it was something I truly loved. The first cabaret I organized was the year before, to raise money for university. My friend Monet had done one successfully, and she encouraged me by saying, “Try it and see.” At the time, I was studying jazz formally and performing with a few musician friends, so I gathered them together, invested a little money, and we staged a show at the Great Blacks in Wax Museum in Baltimore.

 

Reading her book to the audience.

 

Monika: What did producing cabarets at such a young age teach you about creativity and performance?

Dane: It gave me a new perspective on what it means to be creative, particularly that if someone isn't creating the art you want to see or hiring you to sing, act, or dance, you should produce your own show. It isn't easy, and some days I performed to ten people and made less money than it cost, but it laid the groundwork for what I do now and how I access creating art.

Monika: Many people wonder whether there is such a thing as specifically transgender art. In your view, how would you define transgender artistry, and what does it mean to you personally to create as a transgender artist?

Dane: For me, being a trans artist is a title I bear proudly. Yes, we are artists who just happen to be trans, but for so long we have been erased from spaces and silenced, and to be a trans artist is to be connected to a deeply magical state of being. The culture of our indigenous ancestors loved us, so I feel I am simply existing in a place that was always meant for me to occupy by Divine Rite.
Monika: You have been deeply involved in many causes that focus on transgender rights. Could you share some of the initiatives that you are most proud of?

Dane: I am a part of TWOCC, the Trans Women of Color Collective, and we are one of the only Black trans women founded and run organizations. We have been at the forefront, organizing healing circles and, in earlier years, doing a lot more direct actions. Our members have been at the White House several times. We are committed to dismantling structural oppression, uplifting the lived narratives and work of those most affected, and fighting for liberation for us all.

Monika: Healing seems to be central to this work. How do you incorporate it into your activism?

Dane: Healing is at the heart of what we do. The most recent work involves Lourdes Ashley Hunter and me teaching a seminar on healing and restoration in social justice movements this Friday. I also volunteer for Casa Ruby, founded by my social justice mother Ruby Corado, which is currently the largest employer of trans people in the United States. There we have been leading employment initiatives, creating several transitional homes for LGBTQ youth and adults in DC, combating homelessness, and building a haven where everyone can feel safe, loved, and cared for.
Monika: How do you feel about the work of transgender writers and the stories they are creating today?

Dane: I love the work of Casey Plett, Red Durkin, Ryka Aoki, and the amazing characters they have created. Trans writers are out there making waves and doing the work.

Monika: And what is your opinion of cisgender writers who create transgender characters?

Dane: As far as the cis writers and their trans characters, well, I will say this, I have been mostly unimpressed. I am simply at a place in my life where I am over cis people telling trans stories and their obsession with how we have sex and what we have between our legs.

 

Performance for Black Trans Media (YouTube)

 

Monika: Do you believe there is something unique about the way trans writers portray trans characters compared to cis writers?

Dane: There are trans writers creating trans characters with nuance, authenticity, and ferocity that, quite frankly, I feel cis writers lack when they attempt to write characters with a trans experience. They tend to make the body the unsung hero in the story instead of simply writing a powerful character who just happens to be trans.

Monika: How would you describe Hollywood’s role in shaping or limiting trans representation?

Dane: I believe Hollywood masks its buy-in to structural oppression, as it manifests through the lens of transphobia and misogyny, by using every excuse not to bring trans people to the table. I am done with trans people being the butt of jokes, the stereotyped character, or the one who must be harmed in order for anyone to care and feel catharsis. Haven't we already laid down our bodies enough in real life for cis white men?

Monika: Do you think the variety of trans experiences is being reflected in mainstream culture?

Dane: There are many trans experiences, but Hollywood seems to be interested in only one, and that is boring to me. On top of that, trans people are rarely cast as trans characters and, even more often, not cast for anything else either, despite the large number of talented trans actors who exist.
Monika: At what age did you begin your transition, and how would you describe the process?

Dane: My social justice mother, Ruby Corado, says, “Transition starts when you make up your mind to be who you are,” and I agree. I began my body transition last year, although I have been working to break free from the violence of being misgendered and the effects of internalized misogyny for much longer.

Monika: What were some of the broader challenges you faced during your transition?

Dane: My process was only as difficult as realizing that white supremacy has influenced so many people's ideas of gender, to the point that many forget trans identities existed in indigenous cultures dating back to the beginning of time. State-sanctioned violence and colonization have tried and continue to try to erase us completely.
Monika: When you were beginning your transition, did you have transgender role models who inspired you or guided you along the way?

Dane: I have many. Lourdes, Mama Ruby, my aunties Consuella and Cece, and my sisters Katrina, Sami, and Mother Koko Jones. These are women I admire and respect, who I can call at any time, on any day, to wail about my frustration and strategize healing and restoration. There was also my Auntie Jimmy, who was not given the opportunity to explore who she really was and live her life unapologetically. She has passed.

END OF PART 1

PART 2

 

All photos: courtesy of Lady Dane Figueroa Edidi.

© 2015 - Monika Kowalska

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