A nonprofit is doing something right if it receives a special commendation from the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
For the Tenderloin-based Transgender District, that something is its Entrepreneurship Accelerator Program, which supports trans and nonbinary entrepreneurs' development of their own businesses.
The recognition took place July 23, during the board's regular meeting in City Hall. Gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman presented the Certificate of Honor to the district's leadership on behalf of the board members.
"According to [a] 2021 Center for LGBTQ Economic Advancement & Research study, only 4% of small businesses in the United States are owned by queer entrepreneurs. The Transgender District addresses this disparity by providing valuable support to trans entrepreneurs, who face significant barriers when following their small business dreams," said Mandelman.
Mandelman, who represents the Castro, has a record of championing San Francisco's trans and gender-nonconforming community. Notably, in June, the Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a resolution he authored that designated San Francisco as a sanctuary city for trans people, as the Bay Area Reporter previously reported.
The city's Transgender District, founded in 2017 by trans leaders Honey Mahogany, Aria Sa'id and Janetta Johnson, has played a key role in empowering TGNC individuals via resources, events, community connection, and programs. Sa'id is a former president and chief strategist of the district who has relocated to Houston. Mayor London Breed named mahogany as the new executive director of the San Francisco Office of Transgender Initiatives in May. Johnson is the CEO of the TGI Justice Project.
Carlo Gomez Arteaga, a trans man, and Breonna McCree, a woman of trans experience, now co-lead the Transgender District.
"Our programs are vital. As we know, less than 4% of businesses are LGBTQI, and an even smaller percentage of those are trans-led or nonbinary-led businesses, and so we really want to uplift the importance of what this funding and these opportunities mean for our community, especially during these years where we're 'otherized' and many in our community are criminalized for just existing when we just want dignity and the ability to have civil rights and liberties as anyone else in the U.S.," said Gomez Arteaga.
The district's program director Sam Favela; members of the San Francisco Office of Transgender Initiatives, including Mahogany, manager of training and education Shane Zaldivar, and communications manager Asri Wulandari; and participants in the 2024 entrepreneurship accelerator program stood with Gomez Arteaga as he expressed his appreciation for the board's support.
"Thank you to the Board of Supervisors for allowing us to be able to provide these opportunities and for the city of San Francisco for being the great leader that it is in providing funds and opportunities for our transgender and nonbinary community," he said.
The entrepreneurship accelerator program, which kicked off in 2020, is a free four-month "business bootcamp" that includes webinars, information sessions, mentorship, free business tax filings, one-on-one coaching, and assistance with the creation of a full brand suite and website.
Applications to the program are accepted during a February to March window; the 2024 applicants were selected earlier this year. The latest cohort began in April and culminates in August with a graduation ceremony and the distribution of $10,000 seed grants to program graduates to fund their businesses. Funding for the program comes from the city's Office of Economic and Workforce Development.
[They've] been "instrumental in helping us not only further the ideas into fruition of our entrepreneurs but also funding the next stages of what that looks like for us," said Gomez Arteaga about the OEWD and its staff.
"We want to also talk about the importance of the confidence that this [program] builds in our community and the importance, also, [of] the leadership of a city like San Francisco that can work towards expanding the tapestry of what our community businesses look like, and extending that opportunity to our community's most vulnerable and marginalized residents," he added.
Since its inception, 37 individuals completed the program and started businesses as a result. The number will soon rise to 51, post-graduation of the current 14 participants at the Strand Theater on August 22.
"Graduates of the Transgender District's Entrepreneurship Accelerator program go on to pursue a wide variety of business endeavors. Thanks to support from the district, program graduate Jessica Lamb founded Open Doors HR, an LGBTQ+ and AAPI-led HR team. Avery Zeus started a catering company, Concept Kitchen, which works to create community through food, providing meals for many LGBTQ+ [individuals]," said Mandelman, using the acronym for the Asian American Pacific Islander community.
Mandelman also referred to Melanie Ampon, who opened Hearten Electrolysis in San Francisco after participating in the entrepreneurship accelerator program, as the B.A.R. previously reported.
"She provides a safe and judgment-free space for people to achieve their transition goals," said Mandelman, mentioning Ampon's employment of trans people in her two storefronts and her support of their education and electrolysis training.
The 2023 program saw a total of 15 graduates, including Niko Rosen Storment, who founded Rosen Creative House, a creative agency serving trans and queer creatives; Kipper Yanaga, the business owner and designer behind the label Snackum Dackum, which specializes in custom pieces; and Miel Amial-Dominguez, who opened Mercury City Couriers, a bike messenger service company in San Francisco.
Mandelman congratulated the 2024 cohorts present at the board meeting in anticipation of their upcoming graduation.
"I am so excited to watch you thrive and, in turn, contribute to San Francisco's vibrant small business community," he said.
Trans History Month starts soon
The board's honoring of the district with a special commendation this week was timely, as Transgender History Month is right around the corner.
On August 24, 2021, Mayor London Breed declared August as Transgender History Month in honor of the Compton's Cafeteria Riots that took place in the Tenderloin in August 1966 (the exact date is lost to history). The site of the riots — the intersection of Turk and Taylor Streets — is now part of the trans district. The City of San Francisco renamed sections of these historic streets as "Compton's Cafeteria Way" and "Vikki Mar Lane," respectively, in 2016. (Marlane was a transgender performer who staged shows at Aunt Charlie's Lounge in the Tenderloin. She died in 2011.)
In September 2023, the state of California followed suit after the Assembly passed House Resolution 57, calling for a statewide recognition of the monthlong commemoration. The legislation passed 58-0, as the B.A.R. previously reported. Assemblymember Matt Haney (D-San Francisco) authored the resolution, which did not need approval by the governor. Because it was passed last September, this August will be the first official recognition. (Haney used to represent the Tenderloin when he served on the Board of Supervisors.)
San Francisco and California are the first and only U.S. city and state, respectively, to designate August as a month to celebrate and honor trans history.
Trans history month events in San Francisco include the third annual flag-raising ceremony at City Hall on Wednesday, August 1; "Expansive," featuring classical trans and nonbinary artists, on August 8-9; and the Transgender District's annual Riot Party, which will celebrate the 58th anniversary of the Compton's Cafeteria Riots, on August 24.
And as it's the first year that the Golden State is honoring trans history month, a celebration and flag-raising ceremony will take place in Sacramento at the state Capitol building on August 5.
These events will be preceded by the Board of Supervisors' voting on a Transgender History Month resolution during its meeting July 30.
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