Elevating Black trans joy, love, and power
Junior Mintt takes the stage at the live taping of The Junior Mintt Show at the Bell House in Brooklyn, NY in November, 2022. Photo by Arin Sang-urai.
Established in 2020 by a generous donation from Dockers, Stonewall’s Black Futures Fund supports new, emerging, and historically unfunded Black-led organizations, projects, and ideas that usher us into a bold and equitable future. This year, the Black Futures Fund is honored to support The Junior Mintt Show.
Junior Mintt is a Black trans woman, drag artist, makeup mogul, and activist. Known for her stirring performances that preach the gospel of Black trans liberation, she is now embarking on her next venture: her own late-night talk show! “For years, we’ve been waiting for our seat at the table--but the clock is ticking, mama, so we’re building a table for ourselves,” says Junior Mintt.
The first late-night talk show hosted by a Black trans woman, The Junior Mintt Show puts Black trans and queer perspectives at the center of storytelling. The show features a company of queer BIPOC writers and creatives and includes interviews with other Black trans people that move beyond the typical questions trans people are usually asked. “We wanted to make sure Junior’s wasn’t the only Black trans voice being heard,” said SRDA, co-creator and producer of the show. With drag performances in place of typical stand-up monologues and jokes that punch up instead of down, The Junior Mintt Show reimagines what a late-night talk show can be. Each episode will feature hilarious sketches, moving and meme-worthy interviews, and jaw-dropping drag performances.
Over the last year, we have seen mainstream journalism fuel transphobic legislation and hate crimes by “just asking questions” that doubt the humanity of transgender people and our basic rights to healthcare, privacy, and safety. Now more than ever, it’s vital to give trans people opportunities to share our stories on our own terms. This grant from the Black Futures Fund will cover post-production costs for the first episode of the show, including editing and animation costs and compensating the team of queer BIPOC writers and producers. We asked Junior what the significance of funding her work at this time means, and she placed her work in the larger context of shedding light on Black trans excellence in the past, present, and future:
Junior Mintt facilitates conversation among guests at the live taping of The Junior Mintt Show at the Bell House in Brooklyn, NY in November, 2022. Photo by Arin Sang-urai.
“Historically and still to this today, Black trans people have created powerful change, created loving communities, and created an abundance of joy, all of which has been steadily and purposefully erased. The Junior Mintt Show not only highlights Black trans excellence in the present but also allows us to reclaim and re-examine the Black trans excellence that came before us and laid the groundwork for this show to even exist. I hope to give people an understanding of where we came from so that as a community, we know what is possible right now and in the future. When I first learned about Marsha, Miss Major, Sylvester, and others, it taught me that power and beauty run in the veins of every Black trans person. I hope I remind Black trans people of that and make the rest of the world GAG ON IT!”
We’re honored to support The Junior Mintt Show’s vision of radical joy, love, and power.