Lorena Borjas (1960-2020) was an activist who dedicated her life to helping trans women, undocumented people and sex workers, survive the streets of Queens.
Lorena Borjas (1960-2020) was an activist who dedicated her life to helping trans women, undocumented people and sex workers, survive the streets of Queens.
While motherhood can take many forms, to mother is to usher forth new generations through care, work and imagination. For the entire month of December, we’re celebrating mothers — including those who raised children who went on to lead the civil rights movement and school desegregation efforts, such as Alberta King and Louise Little, as well as mothers of movements like Lorena Borjas who started the Latinx trans movement. All of the women featured this month were dedicated to the survival of children in their work and to imagining better futures for the next generation.
History classes can get a bad rap, and sometimes for good reason. When we were students, we couldn’t help wondering... where were all the ladies at? Why were so many incredible stories missing from the typical curriculum? Enter, Womanica. On this Wonder Media Network podcast we explore the lives of inspiring women in history you may not know about, but definitely should.
Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we’ll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know–but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Educators, Villains, Indigenous Storytellers, Activists, and many more. Womanica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures.
Womanica was created by Liz Kaplan and Jenny Kaplan, executive produced by Jenny Kaplan, and produced by Liz Smith, Grace Lynch, Maddy Foley, Brittany Martinez, Edie Allard, Lindsey Kratochwill, Adesuwa Agbonile, Carmen Borca-Carrillo, Taylor Williamson, Ale Tejeda, Sara Schleede, Abbey Delk, and Alex Jhamb Burns. Special thanks to Shira Atkins.
Original theme music composed by Miles Moran.
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Hello! From Wonder Media Network, I'm Anna Malaika Tubbs, the author of The Three Mothers: How the Mothers of MLK, Malcom X and James Baldwin Shaped A Nation. My work focuses on motherhood, through the lens of feminism, intersectionality, and inclusivity, and I’ll be your guest host for this month of Womanica.
This month, we’re talking about mothers: women who ushered forth new generations and new futures through their care, work, and imagination.
Today we’re talking about an activist who dedicated her life to helping trans women, undocumented people, and sex workers, survive the streets of Queens. She often hosted people in her home and helped them through difficult periods in their lives. She was considered a mother by her community, as was always looking out for the many people she considered her family.
Let’s talk about Lorena Borjas.
Lorena was born in Veracruz], Mexico, on May 29, 1960. She ran away to Mexico City when she was 17 years old. Three years later, she made her way across the border to the United States, and eventually to New York City.
She came in search of medical professionals to help her transition. She succeeded in transitioning to being a woman, but Lorena was still undocumented and forced to live on the margins.
Lorena obtained legal status in 1986 under a Reagan-era amnesty policy, but four years later was arrested for prostitution and human trafficking – though she herself was a victim of trafficking. Several arrests that followed prevented her from applying for a green card or naturalization.
Despite all of this, Lorena began her work helping others in the 1990s. Sometimes she would walk to the Department of Public health to pick up condoms, and then to the food pantry to pick up food. She would carry these items around her neighborhood in Jackson Heights, Queens and distributed them to people on the street who needed them.
She helped immigrants who didn’t know how to navigate the legal system, and she opened her home to other trans women who needed a safe place to go. Sometimes housing up to twenty trans women in her small apartment at a time. She offered them an escape from violent partners, risky sex work or police harassment, and would then connect them to social services. Anyone in need was welcome to stay at her house until they got back on their feet.
Lorena developed a network, and people knew that she was someone in the community with the resources to help. Along with lawyer and activist Chase Strangio, Lorena founded the Lorena Borjas Community Fund. Which helped transgender people – and others – cover bail and legal costs.
Cecilia Gentili [Jen-tih-lee], a friend of Lorena’s, told the the New York Times: “If one of the girls got arrested for doing sex work, she would answer the phone at 3 in the morning and at 8 in the morning she would be in court with a lawyer and with the money to bail you out.”
While Lorena spent her time dedicated to helping the people around her not only survive, but thrive, her own life was still insecure. She received no money or institutional support for the constant work she did for her community. And she lost sleep worrying she would be deported for the convictions on her record, back to a country she no longer considered home.
Finally, following community advocacy, Gov. Andrew Cuomo pardoned Lorena in 2017. She became a U.S. citizen in 2019.
Lorena survived the AIDS and crack epidemics in New York City, and helped many people through these periods. But on March 31, 2020, she passed away from complications with COVID-19. She was 59 years old.
The night she passed, a couple hundred gathered for an online vigil to commemorate her life. Chase Strangio, her friend who had helped set up the bail fund, , later said: “Lorena taught me more about advocacy than I could have ever learned anywhere else… She carried the stories of generations and preserved the stories of generations with her love.”
All month, we’re talking about mothers. For more information, find us on Facebook and Instagram @womanicapodcast.
Special thanks to co-creators Jenny and Liz Kaplan, for having me as a guest host.
Talk to you tomorrow!