The Root: The 100 Most Influential African Americans in 2020
Mariah Moore
Activist, co-director of House of Tulip, national organizer with the Transgender Law Center
Moore is co-director of House of Tulip, a visionary land trust in New Orleans for transgender and gender-nonconforming people experiencing homelessness.
One in 3 transgender or gender-nonconforming people in Louisiana have experienced homelessness, and Mariah Moore was once counted in that number. She says that her lived experience as a Black trans woman—facing everything from violence to housing discrimination—is what drives her to be a prominent voice advocating for safety and equity for the trans community, including by working with the Transgender Law Center as an organizer and serving on the mayor of New Orleans' LGBTQ task force. This summer, Moore and a collective of trans organizers launched a GoFundMe campaign to support trans and gender-nonconforming people who were being left economically and housing insecure by the coronavirus pandemic. That fundraising effort blossomed into House of Tulip ("Tulip" is short for Trans United Leading Intersectional Progress), a community land trust in New Orleans launched to ensure that trans people there can access safe and sustainable housing for as long as they need it and can even begin on a path to homeownership. Moore is co-director of the visionary project, which met its $400,000 goal for funding in just two months.