LGBTQ+ Creative Non-Fiction
I Exchanged Lives with a Trans Woman in Louisiana for a Week
I managed my coworker’s political canvassing office in New Orleans…here’s what happened
Around 2am, I was sitting in the back of a stranger’s car exchanging stories as he drove me from the heart of New Orleans to the apartment of the young trans woman whose Louisiana life I was inhabiting.
Alicia Keys’ song “In Common” played in the background as he asked me about my job. He lit up as I told him a little about my work. I had exchanged lives with my coworker for a week and was managing her political canvassing office.
Her employees and I were starting conversations with strangers on the street each day to gather support for LGBTQ+ civil rights. Since our operation ran on a tight budget, I was sleeping on the couch in my coworker’s apartment while she was on vacation.
In return for my story, the man who was driving me back to her apartment told me about his years working in a leadership position before beginning this retirement gig as an Uber driver. He talked about some of the racism he experienced from his own employees, marveling that someone would feel empowered by a lifetime of white supremacist programming to talk to their boss like…
