A junior student at Howard University has made history for being the first transgender person to be elected student body president in the history of the institution. Jay Jones, a political science major from Fort Worth, Texas has become the HBCU’s 64th Student Association president.
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“Leadership really became my safe haven,” she recently told Andscape in an interview. “I could prove to people that regardless of who you are, regardless of what you did, you can still succeed.”
Jones found support in her community and points to Howard for creating “a home of protection” and for allowing her “to walk in my truth.”
“There exists between Black trans women … this just innate sense of, like, sisterhood,” Eshe Ukweli, a Howard alum, told Andscape.
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Jones hopes to inspire others through her recent achievement.
“I do this for all the little gay boys, all the little gay girls, and all the little trans male and female people down South who haven’t gotten their chance to dance to the sun yet,” she said.
She aims to create a welcoming experience for incoming students during freshmen walks and initiation events. Jones also hopes to foster connections between Howard and local schools by sending student organizations to mentor younger students.
“I became Vice-President to show the world the impossible, I will serve as President to show the world just what is possible,” Jones wrote on social media.
