Digital Transgender Archive

Interview with Zakia McKensey

An interview with Zakia McKensey, an African-American trans woman and native of Richmond, Viginia. At the time of this interview, she was the executive director of Nationz Foundation, a Richmond-based public health organization she founded in 2015. McKensey is a certified HIV test counselor, prevention educator, and disease intervention specialist with over twenty years of experience in the field of HIV prevention and education. Prior to her work with Nationz Foundation, she worked for years at Richmond's Fan Free Clinic (now Health Brigade) and with the City of Richmond, testing individuals for sexually transmitted infections, conducting street and nightlife outreach, and offering counseling and care support to HIV positive individuals and their loved ones. In this oral history interview, McKensey discusses her experience as a public health worker, disease intervention specialist, and non-profit director working on the ground with Richmond's LGBTQ community, her thoughts on the issues facing trans people served by Nationz Foundation, the causes and implications of violence against Black and Brown trans women, and the importance of public health work in trans communities. Additionally, she discusses her upbringing in Richmond and the pageantry circuit, her experience working within both non-profit and governmental public health organizations in Richmond prior to her founding Nationz Foundation, her experience as both a grantee and panelist with the Trans Justice Funding Project, and her thoughts on police reform, faith, and visions for a better future.