Digital Transgender Archive

Interview with Monica Cross

Download the full-sized image of Interview with Monica Cross

onica Joy Cross is a Pastor at First Christian Church of Oakland and Associate Pastor at Tapestry Ministries in Berkeley, who identifies as Black and trans. In this oral history, she shares many of her experiences such as growing up in LA; her spirituality and faith in relation to her identity; coming out; the impact of the White Gaze and its impact on Black communities and Black queer and trans communities; and discrimination and harassment. Cross discusses her work on The Collaborative Community Planning Council which provides resources to primarily AIDS orgs in Black community. She is a Navy veteran who served for 22 years and also talks about her experience with her identity and her relation to the military. Cross shares her experiences as a parent and as a grandparent, and her hopes for the trans community and its progress, as well as her hopes for the respect of Trans Women of Color. Monica Cross is also the author of Authenticity and Imagination in the Face of Oppression, a book discussing strategies to live in the midst of white supremacy and white privilege.

Item Information: