Ep. 5 - Fleeing Texas, pestering legislators, and being a voice in the room with Vienna Cavazos
#5: This episode’s guest is Vienna Cavazos! Vienna (they/them) is a young non-binary Latine activist from Texas. Following the 2021 legislative session, Vienna and their family faced one of the toughest decisions of their lives: to leave their home in Texas. Since moving, Vienna began their career in activism, advocating for a range of issues including voting rights, youth advocacy, human rights, and racial justice. They collaborate with numerous organizations, all of which prioritize and empower queer and trans youth.
You can find Vienna on Instagram @k1ng0fh311 and on Twitter @Vienna1213
Links/resources in the episode:
Queer Youth Assemble
Fiesta Youth
Governor Abbott’s directive to Texas Department of Family and Protective Services
PFLAG Salisbury
Sussex Pride
Trans Maryland
Free State Justice
Everyday Trans Activism is a production of Parents of Trans Youth, a social impact business providing learning, support, and community to parents and caregivers of transgender, nonbinary, and gender-diverse kids.
Host Mandy Giles (she/her) is the Texas parent of two transgender young adults and a fierce advocate for trans kids, their families, and the transgender community.
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FULL TRANSCRIPT
Mandy: Hey y'all, and welcome to Everyday Trans Activism. I'm your host, Mandy Giles. My pronouns are she/her, and I am the parent of two transgender young adults and the founder of Parents of Trans Youth. So today's guest is Vienna Cavazos. Vienna is a queer youth activist who I had the pleasure of meeting in Washington, D.C. when I was up there recently. They have a heart and soul for activism and have already done so much with so many organizations as a youth.
So Vienna, welcome, and thank you for taking the time to talk with me today.
Vienna: Yeah, of course. Thank you for having me on.
Mandy: So why don't you introduce yourself however you want to do that?
Vienna: Yeah, so as said, I'm Vienna Cavasos. My pronouns are they/them. I am a queer and trans youth activist in the northeast of the United States. I'm originally from Texas, but I unfortunately moved, and we'll probably get [00:01:00] into that in a bit. But I am associated with a plethora of organizations in Delaware and Maryland and D. C., most importantly, Queer Youth Assemble, which is a nonprofit serving queer and trans youth in the United States under the age of 25.
Mandy: So, I guess we can start at the beginning. I wanted to hear how your journey into activism got started, and I have a feeling it probably started in Texas.
Vienna: So, I was born into, like, a very politically active family. My mother and her mother were both sort of activists in their own right when it came to immigration rights. My grandfather immigrated from Mexico. And so there were tons of opportunities when I was very little to go to protests regarding immigration rights, [00:02:00] and then later as we went into 2016, the infamous "build the wall." So that's one of the main places where I started sort of following my mother in a little stroller. And from there, as I grew up, I got into my own interests, into my own, like, political niches, if you will.
And I got a huge interest in queer and trans rights, huge interest in racial justice, and disability justice, and voting rights. Especially as we started to see these, the Texas legislature take a turn.
Mandy: And so when did you start getting involved in the Texas legislature? Was that two sessions ago or, or more?
Vienna: I want to say more. My mother and I have been going up to Austin for a decent amount [00:03:00] of times to protest and to speak out against specific things, mostly regarding the Texas legislature's sort of aggressive stance on immigration. And that was, I want to say, 2017-18. In 2019, I believe that was the year of like the big climate strike.
And we were very active in the climate strike in San Antonio where we lived. And then come 2020, 2021, when the Texas legislators started to go towards trans children and trans families, that's when my mother and I really started to ramp up going to Austin starting to speak out.
And we got involved with a local organization called Fiesta Youth in San Antonio.[00:04:00] For me, it was a sort of place to relax and not be as stressed about everything that's going on because it's a very open and accepting space, especially for queer and trans youth. And when Governor Abbott wanted CPS to go after the parents of trans youth, that was kind of the final straw for my mother and I.
Mandy: Tell me more about the decision to leave Texas.
Vienna: Yeah. It wasn't an easy decision. I mean, it's not an easy decision for anyone. To sort of leave family, friends, your home. I lived in Texas all of my life. My mother had for most of her life, only leaving temporarily to live in Vegas for a bit, then live in Seattle where she had me, and then move back.
But our friends, our family, everything's in Texas. And so the decision was hard. It was one that we had been [00:05:00] thinking about for months up to that point, and almost a year. Especially following the outbreak of COVID-19 and the BLM movement as Texas started to seem more and more aggressive towards marginalized communities in our state.
And from there, we saved up money. We're like a working-class family. So saving up money was long.
Oh yeah. And we were able to move to an area where our mortgage is manageable. And it's interesting. In Texas, we love, we love Texas. We really didn't want to leave, but we felt like we had no other choice, because it was either we leave, or either I get taken away from her, [00:06:00] I have to detransition, or we have to sort of look for other options of living, like, living situations. Which would be me moving out from her or me living with, say, my grandparents or my father.
Mandy: To, I guess, to protect both of you, I guess, from, if y'all were separated that would protect both of you under the directive, I guess, or, I mean, not protect, but you wouldn't be under that directive. I didn't, I hadn't thought about that. So, of course, none of those options are good at all.
Or moving is not good. So, I know like many families in Texas with transgender minors that just puts, I'm sure, puts y'all in an awful position.
Vienna: Yeah, like I said, it was hard. Our family [00:07:00] didn't really understand why we were leaving, other than the fact that we were leaving.
Mandy: Hmm.
Vienna: It was a difficult conversation to have with my grandmother, because she was used to us being around all the time. We basically lived with her. And she was sad for a while, because she had to go back to living alone.
We had been living with her and taking care of her as well as she had been taking care of us, and sort of almost being forced to leave really hit her probably the hardest because she didn't have to take me to school in the morning. She didn't have anyone to go to church with. She didn't have anyone to go with her to the grocery store.
And all of our family's in Texas, but she lives alone, and she's stubborn, so she enjoys living in her own home. [00:08:00] And we are worried for them because, well, we don't know if anyone else in our family is queer or trans, we are a family of color. We are a minority family.
And, yeah, it's scary.
Mandy: Yeah. I would say I kind of love and hate Texas at the same time. So, so now that you are out of Texas and you and your mom are safe, how did you start getting involved in all the many things that you are involved in? Because I know that it seems like every time I look at your stuff on social media, I'm like, oh my gosh. There's another organization like that you started, or, or like joined in, like how it's, it's amazing to me that you, you have the time and, and the energy to do all this. So tell me about some of the things you're involved in.
Vienna: Yeah [00:09:00] well, to get involved in activism up here, one of my main, like, incentives was I had to leave. I don't want other people to leave. Or to feel like they have to leave. And if they do, I want them to have a welcoming space in the new state that they're going to. That is the goal of multiple organizations in Delaware, Maryland, D.C. There's a lot of resources that are underutilized and are now being, that were already strained, and with the influx of people are going to be strained more.
But getting involved here was interesting. So, I live right on the border of Delaware and Maryland. And because I live in Delaware, the bigger cities are very far away. More populated, more dense, more active. Are about [00:10:00] a 45 to an hour drive away. And coming from Texas that's not much, but
Mandy: but still!
Vienna: yeah. And as someone who doesn't drive at the moment, someone whose schedule is entirely reliant on my mother's and her availability, it's difficult to find that sort of community that I had in Texas. So, one of the cities in Maryland, Salisbury, has a PFLAG chapter. And I joined the PFLAG chapter, despite being a Delaware resident.
Mandy: Okay.
Vienna: and from there I got more and more involved, volunteering and helping their youth group. Because, like I said, I came from a youth group in San Antonio that was very strong, very robust, and had a lot of programs, initiatives, and offerings to [00:11:00] the middle of nowhere. And so, after a couple months, I decided to join in on helping their Pride Parade. I was their volunteer coordinator for Pride. And then, it was stressful.
Mandy: that's, just jump right in.
Vienna: My family, we've always been a jump-right-in kind of people.
Mandy: Well, that's true, you've had good models.
Vienna: From there I reached out to other organizations in my area, took some suggestions from people who helped sort of mentor me. Getting involved in Delaware-based groups that are closer. Getting involved in some Maryland groups that may be across the bridge. And from that I got involved with Sussex Pride, which is a great organization in Sussex County, Delaware, for queer Delawareans. [00:12:00] And I we have made wonderful connections in Maryland, Delaware, and D.C. Through Trans Maryland, Free State Justice Sussex Pride. There are some organizations that are blanking.
Mandy: That's already a lot.
Vienna: And, my activism is coming through. Being a young person in the room there are hundreds of young people who could easily be in my place, but I sort of have the time to sit in those kind of boring meetings take notes and listen to what the people who know more than me are saying about this legislation coming through, or, um, this specific event.
And I am all for, I definitely want there to be more seats at the room for [00:13:00] young people especially since a lot of these issues are happening to young people.
Mandy: Exactly. So much of the legislation, or proposed legislation, is targeting transgender, LGBTQ youth, whether it's medical care, facilities, or curriculum, or books or, or any kind of, you know, targeting with schools. So it's important to have that youth voice in the room. And you had said learning, I think from those who know more than you do, but you have obviously that lived experience, that current lived experience as a queer youth right now.
And so that is extremely important. So don't discount yourself. You're, you're, you can even, I know those meetings are boring and you're an important part of them.
Vienna: Yeah.
Mandy: Well, tell me about Queer Youth Assemble. Cause I know that's one that you are definitely involved in, and it's [00:14:00] a, is it a national, it's a national program, right?
Vienna: Yeah. like I said earlier, Queer Youth Assemble is a national organization focusing on improving the lives of queer and trans youth in the United States under the age of 25. They have plenty of programs, like a pen pal program, and I've suggested it heavily to people.
Mandy: That sounds like so it's so needed. Tell me a little bit more about the pen pal program.
Vienna: Yeah, the pen pal program is to provide connection to people who may feel isolated, alone, and not heard. Something that a lot of queer and trans youth struggle with. Especially, because these attacks on our rights can be very isolating, can be very difficult to deal with, and the emotional toll that this has on people is [00:15:00] heavy.
So, sort of having someone to talk to, whether it's over email, actual letters um, or social media is extremely important because it can foster that sort of community. And community and connection are very important in sort of not losing hope. And it's something that is extremely important to us at Queer Youth Assemble, how we can sort of connect other youths who have similar interests, who want similar goals or even similar locations.
Because being queer in a rural area or even in a big city can seem like you're invisible sometimes. But we're not invisible, we're everywhere um, even if we don't notice.
Mandy: Mm hmm. You know, something that parents ask me a lot about how do I get [00:16:00] my kid to meet other queer kids where it's maybe they don't live in a space in a place like Houston or San Antonio or D.C. that have these amazing even an LGBTQ center or much less a, a, a really strong youth group or one at all.
And so this feels like a lifeline really for a lot of kids. So I'm really glad that they are offering that. That's awesome. I'm wondering what, where you see the role of allies in trans rights activism? How can they get involved? Where do they stand? And, you know, it's, yeah, I'm curious about your thoughts on that.
Vienna: Yeah, I think allies play an important role. It's one thing to have the community that it's affecting speak up. It's another thing for those who seem to have no connection to speak up. It [00:17:00] shows that, it's not a specific issue that only one group cares about. And especially since these are, you know, human rights that are being attacked.
Allies play an important role in being that sort of person in the room that will, unfortunately, more likely get listened to, especially with legislators. The average voter is someone that they care about more than their constituents sometimes, even if their constituents are queer and trans. And it's unfortunate, but kind of the way it is right now.
And hopefully it'll change. But, allies are an important part of this. They also offer an even bigger community. Sort of, when everyone stands united against or for something, then that's a community. That's a strong community [00:18:00] that will be able to better organize and better speak out against something.
Mandy: Well, even if I care about this issue, I'm not sure I can speak out on it. Or what do I do? Where do I go? Should I do this? Because maybe I'm not trans, so why should I go talk to a legislature? Or give comment or testimony.
And so I think you brought up some really good points that you're right. Unfortunately, especially certain legislators in particular would listen more to, say, a cisgender, heterosexual, well, frankly, white people depending on who those, again, legislators are. And the, bringing up sort of the strength in numbers that for allies to, to lend their voice to the causes that the queer community is fighting for, that's really, really important to have even more voices. So thank you for that. [00:19:00]
So what advice would you have for someone wanting to get involved in activism advocacy? What would be the first steps, especially for, for young people since, since that's where, where you're looking from?
Vienna: One of the main things is kind of just um, this is going to not sound helpful, but go for it. Sort of get involved with organizations that are local. If you don't have like a GSA, talk to people. Talk about starting one. And there are plenty of resources online. I know PFLAGs typically have resources on how to start a GSA. So that's one of the avenues.
Another one is to go to your state capitols. Testify. If you can't go there, testify at school board meetings. If you can't go there, call your [00:20:00] representatives. Call your representatives, your school board even state and yep, state legislators.
There are plenty of ways to get involved. There are plenty of ways to get your voice heard. Signing petitions, sending emails, talking to your friends, and raising awareness. And, one of the sort of most important aspects to me is to not stop talking because it can seem futile at some points like you're not doing much, but it's doing something and the more you talk about it, the more you'll be able to get through to people.
It's sort of, it's almost like a pestering thing, especially with legislators. If you just keep pestering them, they're going to listen at some point.
Mandy: I, I like that don't stop talking [00:21:00] both in the, in the pestering sense for the, for the decision-makers, but also making your voice heard. And there's so many different ways to do that. I think sometimes people think it's just going to the state capitol or to D.C. or whatever. And it doesn't have to be that.
It can and that's great. But like school boards, gosh, I mean, oh, that is just a huge battleground right now. And I think for young people to speak to the school boards and say, we are the ones that these policies are affecting. I went to a Katy ISD board meeting, Katy is a suburb outside of Houston, and they were proposing a gender fluidity policy and it did pass. But the number of students there who were speaking passionately was [00:22:00] incredible and the power that they had and it was, it was palpable in the room, and they've already organized things.
And so I think seeing that also inspires other people, I think to, to think, wow, this is possible. I do have a voice and I can use it too. I could be like that person or that person or, or like you doing all these wonderful, amazing things. So okay. So thank you so much for your, your wisdom and your stories, and I know, especially talking about moving from Texas is a tough topic, and thank you for sharing that with us and being vulnerable.
So if you want people to find you, where do they go? What are you promoting right now? Where do you want people to go?
Vienna: The main thing is of course Queer Youth Assemble. We're on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, kind [00:23:00] of, and we have a website.
Mandy: And I can put all this in the show notes, too.
Vienna: okay another one is Trans Maryland. It's an organization that's going towards benefiting trans Marylanders. And an organization I know and work heavily with as well as Sussex Pride. That's an organization in Delaware for the Sussex County, which is the lowest county in Delaware.
There's only three counties in Delaware. It's really weird.
And the Free State Justice. That's a Maryland-based organization. It's an advocacy and legal group for LGBTQ Marylanders. They do a bunch of legal stuff on the legal side as well as go to Annapolis, [00:24:00] which is the state capital of Maryland, and testify there.
And for me personally to find me, my Instagram is @k1ng0fh311
Mandy: Got it.
Vienna: I was like 14 when I wrote it. Do not hold it against me. It's gonna change eventually. And, yeah, and I have a Twitter if I remember it. Oh, it's my name. Vienna1213, that's my Twitter. And, yeah.
Mandy: So, listener, if you would like to show gratitude for Vienna and their work, please choose one of those organizations to support and, and give a little donation: Queer Youth Assemble, Trans Maryland, Sussex Pride Delaware in Delaware, and Free State Justice. So you can pick one of those.
They're all awesome. Awesome. And I will [00:25:00] have the links in the show notes. So, Vienna, thank you so much for taking the time to talk with me. I loved it. And I just loved getting to know you better.
Vienna: Thank you for having me.
Mandy: All right. I hope to see you soon.