Mission
We aim to reduce social isolation, stigma, and acts of injustice in TQLGB+ Communities of Color.
The Mahogany Project, Inc. (TMP, Inc.) was founded in 2017 by Verniss McFarland, III, in Houston, TX. TMP, Inc. sparked after the death of Chyna Gibson, a Black woman of trans-experience who was shot in New Orleans on February 25. Chyna was a much-loved performer in the pageantry community who was visiting friends and family in New Orleans at the time of her death. That year 30 individuals of transgender experience (that we know of ) died of anti-trans violence. That year we released The Trans Empowerment and Alliance Party, a safe and affirming space for trans-identified individuals to be uplifted in the community; which evolved into Black Trans Empowerment Week in 2018. As a non-profit organization, TMP, Inc. has cultivated multi-intersectional spaces that center the Black diaspora while decreasing social isolation, stigma, and breaking barriers of social injustice.
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Our History
In 2018, TMP, Inc. became sister organization with Save Our Sister United, a group of women working to bridge the gaps of sisterhood between cis and women of trans-experience. Together with SOSU, Inc., we strive to increase the quality of life of Black women of trans-experience in the South. On June 5, 2017, the Mahogany Project was incorporated as a nonprofit entity in the State of Texas. On January 26, 2018, TMP, Inc. was recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization.
Through programs such as Transparency, The Body Beautiful, Project Action, and Tea Time, TMP, Inc. has used a people-first-centered approach to amplify the voices of TQLGB+ folx in Houston to building thriving communities. Our programming was designed to be a healing and affirming space, that prioritizes the lives of Black folx of the transgender experience and individuals living intersectional lives.
