“I am incredibly tired, and I don’t know if I can survive the work of humanizing Black trans people in this climate, in this town and in this state,” Codi Keith Charles writes in this column.
“Jayhawks must be honest and able to reckon with the world around us. How else are we supposed to become global citizens and changemakers?” Codi Keith Charles writes in this column.
“Is alienating a tactic used by folks in power to deflect the attention off of their unrighteous living?” Codi Keith Charles writes in this column.
“Intimacy is often weaponized by power and not afforded to many divine Black humans,” Cody Charles writes in this column.
“There is an expectation of immense labor for Black trans folks; and there are no thank-yous for the labor given and risk taken,” Cody Charles writes.
“Dear (white) Lawrence youth: … We get to choose if we want to live in a community that hoards all of the resources and allows the deeply marginalized to die off,” Cody Charles writes in this column.
This week’s question was not submitted through the Ask Cody account. It was asked in person, during one of the most important events of my life. “Are you a boy or a girl?”
Q: Dear Cody, what made you stay in Lawrence? After everything with your former employer and the current state of this community, why stay?
This week, Cody reflects on radio requests, their crushes on “90210,” and the songs they sang flamboyantly in their youth.
“What does it look like if you believe Black trans folks the first time? Why do you need to be convinced that anti-Black racism and transphobia exist?” Cody writes.
