History in Action: The Diamonds and their tireless fight for trans rights in Los Angeles
Jessica, left, embraces a friend she met at Bienestar, a Los Angeles-based community organization that addresses emerging health issues in Latino and LGBTQ+ communities. Every Friday, Jessica distributes food bags to trans women and others in need at Bienestar and other resource centers in Los Angeles. Photo by Zaydee Sanchez for palabra
A political force of mighty women fight for the rights of the transgender community in the City of Angels and lends a helping hand too.
In her garage in Los Angeles, Jessica, 67 years old, carefully sorts bags of food. She places rice, beans, canned products, and bread, making sure each one is enough to feed a person. "I make my little bags to give to the girls, and that's been really breaking my back," she says while arranging the bags and putting them in her car, ready to take to the support group. She delivers up to 30 bags of goods that a friend gets from a local food bank.
Jessica knows what it's like not to have a plate of food or a place to sleep. She came to the United States at 17, fleeing violence in her native country of Mexico. Before crossing the border in Tijuana and after being kicked out by her parents for being transgender, she endured rape and robbery in her hometown. She arrived in LA with nothing.
"Where the Hollywood stars are, that's where I slept. I started selling [myself] for five dollars, for food, prostituting myself, such a young girl," she recalls. Jessica is an alias used to protect her physical integrity; for many trans women, growing up in the '70s and '80s meant facing the streets, violence, and marginalization in a society that normalized their exclusion and denied them dignity and rights.
Jessica survived the streets, violence, and marginalization during the ‘70s and ‘80s as a trans woman. Nowadays, she transforms that struggle into strength by distributing food and sharing hard-won wisdom with trans women facing the same battles she once endured. Photo by Zaydee Sanchez for palabra
While Jessica got off the streets after meeting her late husband, some of her friends still face that struggle. Arcadia, a short, honey-blonde powerhouse, radiates wisdom, humor, and fearless directness when she speaks; at 84, she is currently living in a women's shelter, a space that, rather than providing security, keeps her in constant uncertainty.
"We are worried because anyone with prejudice could say 'You don't belong here' and leave us on the streets again," Arcadia says, draped in jewelry and a beige, nude-toned tight dress. Her fear is not unfounded, as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently eliminated the regulations that protected trans people in government-funded shelters. This decision puts hundreds of homeless trans people at risk.
Arcadia has gone through many stages in her life. She worked in clubs in cities like Miami, New York, and Las Vegas, where she performed in venues before a heterosexual audience, considered safer for trans women back in the day without fear of being attacked after the show. She was also part of Elizabeth Taylor's AIDS program supporting people with HIV and has been involved in activism ever since. Currently, she’s unhoused and without an income.
According to the National Transgender Discrimination Survey, 19% of trans people in the U.S. have experienced homelessness due to their gender identity. Additionally, among those who tried to access shelters, 55% were harassed by staff or residents, 29% were turned away and not allowed in, and 22% suffered sexual assault inside the shelter.
On Friday afternoons, trans women gather at Bienestar and other resource centers for essentials, including the food bags Jessica faithfully provides. Photo by Zaydee Sanchez for palabra
For Jessica and Arcadia, both transgender women over the age of 50, aging with dignity may sound utopian, but these women prove it’s possible. They’ve been both witnesses and protagonists of historic movements, contributing to significant progress as members of The Diamonds, a political force of The TransLatin@ Coalition (TLC), a trans-led organization that advocates for policies protecting TGI Latinx rights while offering services that improve the well-being of the TGI community.
As part of this group, they’ve played a vital role in the TGI (transgender, gender expansive, and intersex) community. Notably, they’ve helped create the TGI Wellness & Equity Fund, which supports vital initiatives in housing, health, and employment. According to the 2023 State of Pride Report, 2.8 million adults in California identify as LGBTQ+, representing 9.5% of the state's adult population. These days, The Diamonds are fighting for the rights of immigrant transgender women and shaping policies to improve their lives. However, despite these gains, the threat of losing it all under the new Trump administration, which is increasingly coordinated against the TGI community, remains a very real concern.
‘I think they’ll fight until their last breath, I think they will just fight until they can’t, I think they’ll fight until they’re tired, I think they’ll fight until they die.’
In response to these attacks, the organization led by President and CEO Bamby Salcedo has intensified efforts to advocate for the rights of TGI community members in Los Angeles and beyond. “The mutual support that we share in the organization is very valued, given that our trancestors (trans-ancestors) didn’t have resources to survive,” says Salcedo. TLC has been instrumental in mentoring peer leaders, advocates, and community members to influence policies for the betterment of marginalized communities and people like Arcadia, especially the trans women of color who are fleeing violence in their home country like Jessica did.
According to the Trans Legislation Tracker, an independent research organization monitoring bills that impact trans and gender-diverse people across the United States, more than 660 anti-trans bills were introduced nationwide in 2024, with 45 of them becoming law. So far this year, there are 581 bills still under consideration.
Jessica pages through a photo book in her home, reminiscing about an image of her younger self. Photo by Zaydee Sanchez for palabra
A Historic Pain That Became Activism
Under the leadership of TLC and Self Help Graphics, an organization supporting Chicana/o and Latinx artists through innovative art, The Diamonds created an AIDS commemorative quilt, a powerful symbol of life over death that transforms pain into memory and resistance and is often used in their political actions. TLC policy and community engagement coordinator Mito Aviles promotes policies to guarantee housing, legal assistance, and employment. Mito also serves as West Hollywood's Arts and Culture Commissioner, integrating art into resistance, highlighting how these older trans women have revolutionized their own history and the world's perception of them. “Art also is advocacy, art is also expression, art is also a way to have a revolution,” says Mito.
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The transgender struggle has always been part of the “gay liberation,” from Stonewall (a series of demonstrations and riots that took place in New York City in 1969) to civil rights battles. Figures include Sylvia Rivera, who led the Stonewall riots and co-founded STARS (Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries) to support unhoused trans youth. However, challenges persist today, reflected in The Diamonds' struggle and the realities of Arcadia in her older years.
Mito Aviles dreams of a dignified retirement for trans people. In these pressing times, now more than ever, The Diamonds keep on making history, reminding us that the fight for equity is a fight that never ends and that erasure is not possible when history is in action. “I think they’ll fight until their last breath, I think they will just fight until they can’t, I think they’ll fight until they’re tired, I think they’ll fight until they die,” Aviles affirms. Meanwhile, a federal mandate that recognizes only two sexes increases the vulnerability of trans communities.
Jessica hands out donation bags packed with food and essentials every Friday to women who rely on this weekly act of care. Photo by Zaydee Sanchez for palabra
Arcadia feels “(It’s) about time to get out of this s**t,” when asked about housing, although she's grateful to still have a place to stay. The road has been long and uncertain, especially now that the agency responsible for matching Arcadia with a home is facing possible restructuring after a court-ordered audit found inadequate financial monitoring that makes the agency vulnerable to mismanagement. Nonetheless, Arcadia remains active with The Diamonds and is excited about the release of the film “Trillion Cut: Diamonds of Resilience,” which celebrates her strength and resilience and that of five other Diamond members.
Meanwhile, Jessica continues to be recognized for her tireless work, supporting those most in need with the bags she distributes. Both she and Arcadia inspire change, even when they’re facing challenges and barriers, ensuring that the history of the TGI community is written with dignity, resilience, and pride.
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Jimena Sandoval is a social communicator who studied at the Universidad Centroamericana José Simeón Cañas (UCA) in El Salvador. She is an entrepreneur and communicator known for her leadership in promoting equity and visibility for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. As the founder of Noisy Digital, the first trans-led marketing agency, Jimena focuses on empowering marginalized communities, particularly the TGI (transgender, gender expansive, and intersex) population. She has been involved in significant initiatives alongside organizations like The TransLatin@ Coalition and Bienestar Human Services. With a strong background in PR and marketing, Jimena works to amplify the voices and stories of the LGBTQIA+ community, creating impactful change and opportunities. @jimenasv387
Zaydee Sanchez is a Mexican American visual storyteller, documentary photographer, and writer from Tulare, California, in the San Joaquin Valley. She seeks to highlight underreported communities and overlooked narratives, with a focus on labor, gender, and displacement. Zaydee is an International Women's Media Foundation grantee and a 2021 USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism Fellow. Her work has been published in Al Jazeera, National Geographic, and NPR, among others. She lives in Los Angeles. @zaydee.s
Valeria Fernández is an award-winning journalist, filmmaker, and producer. She started her career at a small Spanish-language newspaper in Phoenix, Arizona, and quickly learned how to write for immigrant communities — rather than just about them. She transitioned to writing for English-language media, including The Guardian, Pacific Standard, Latino USA, and PRX’s The World. Valeria won the American Mosaic Journalism Prize for her reporting on underrepresented communities. She is the former managing editor of palabra, and the founder of Altavoz Lab, an organization that supports local journalists serving marginalized communities. @valfernandez