Tessa

Country Queers

Tessa grew up in Cookeville, Tennessee - which was built on Cherokee and Shawnee land. At the time of this interview, in November 2017, Tessa was 22 years old and studying chemical engineering at TN Tech. In this interview she talks about coming out to her parents, her work with Cumberland Gender Advocacy to support other trans folks in rural middle TN, the struggle to find trans affirming healthcare and jobs in the rural South, and her experiences coming up through the Boy Scouts.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

You can learn more about this project at www.countryqueers.com

And please donate to support Melisse Watson "a black indigenous queer non binary artist from Tkaronto, Dish with One Spoon wampum territory. They are raising money to buy land in Georgia where their birth father’s family has lived for generations - for the purposes of building community with Black and Indigenous farmers and earth workers, working towards land sovereignty, protecting and restoring the land, and reclaiming it from the state."

Reunion: Family & Black Land Stewardship

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Host, Producer, and Lead Editor: Rae Garringer

Assistant Editor & Musical Magic: Tommie Anderson

Editorial Advisory Dream Team: Hermelinda Cortés, Lewis Raven Wallace, and Sharon P. Holland

Theme Song: Composed and performed on banjo by Sam Gleaves. Pedal Steel Version performed by Rebecca Branson Jones.

Additional music: Composed and performed on acoustic and electric guitar by Tommie Anderson