Interview of Amaree Jael

Amaree Jael recounts their life growing up in New York City as a transmasculine person of color. Beginning on 125th Street between 5th and Lennox, Amaree describes their early life in a changing neighborhood and an emotionally withholding biological family. They discuss school as a time of social discomfort and intellectual growth, learning the nuances of moving through the world as Black, queer, and trans. They spend time describing their needs from and contributions to community, whether it be in physical space or on social media, and how the various communities they have been involved in have fulfilled those needs or left them wanting. Touching on issues of representation, visibility, community, activism, and education, Amaree provides a young, Black, queer, trans voice born and raised in New York City. (Summary by Micah Katz.)