Looking to support Black and POC trans-led organizations fighting for trans rights? This guide is for you. The @southseattleemerald and @lavenderrightsproject teamed up to make a list of trans orgs who need your help right now, as well as groups doing incredible work locally. Link in bio 👀🔗 Please share 📨 "The past two years have seen a record-breaking amount of anti-trans legislation in the U.S., with at least 421 actively proposed bills that would limit, restrict, or criminalize the civil rights of transgender people in 2023 ... While this unprecedented wave of anti-trans bills is daunting to say the least, numerous trans organizations are doing incredible work through lobbying, making networks of care among trans communities, offering lifesaving services, and more." 📸: Photo by Luigi Morris via Shutterstock.

Over the last few months I've been helping @seattlegood and @_goodfoodkitchens_ with social media and content creation, and recently had the opportunity to write about Good Food Kitchens for @southseattleemerald -- a wonderful picture of how a nonprofit directly funds South End chefs and restaurants making free meals for their communities. “The ability of restaurants to serve in their own communities has allowed this program to serve culturally relevant foods that are often not available through other food assistance programs,” said Mariah DeLeo, Good Food Economy program manager. “The fact that the meals are prepared are so helpful for those who don’t have the time, knowledge, equipment, or ability to cook with fresh foods. The quality of the meals affirms the dignity of each meal recipient, and reinforces that everyone deserves to eat well.” Now Good Food Kitchens funds over 40 caterers, chefs, and restaurants, among them @thearycambodianfoods, @chefj.horton, and @projectfeast Read the full article at the link in bio 🔗👀 📸: Chef Theary of Theary Cambodian Foods (slide 1 and 2 by Jaidev Vella), Chef Jalissa Horton of Chef Jalissa Culinary Co. (3), kitchen apprentices at Project Feast in Kent (4), an example of Project Feast's free community meals: Korean meatballs, rice, veggie stir fry and kimchi (5) #southseattleemerald #GoodFoodKitchens #SouthSeattle #communitymeals #freemeals #SeattleFoodie #SeattleFood #SeattleJournalist #MarkTheWriter #Seattle #SeattleNews #SeattleNonprofit #CommunityJournalism #CambodianFood #ChefJalissa #ProjectFeast

I kicked off the New Year with a Polar Bear Plunge 🌊 A pretty exciting, cold af way to dive into 2023! I'm proud to be in my fourth year of full-time, self-employed writing and editing. I achieved some pretty cool milestones last year -- including some forays into content and PR work -- and plan on continuing to add to my skills as writer, editor, and storyteller this year. Check out the latest blog post at the link in my bio to find out more about what I've been up to, and my very chilly New Year's Day 🐻‍❄️ Wishing you all a Happy New Year! 🎉 #Seattle #SeattleWriter #MarkTheWriter #SeattleEditor

It's been an honor to work with the amazing team at @southseattleemerald 💚 We are a small online, nonprofit news publication that amplifies the voices of the South End -- and we couldn't do it without your generous donations! Consider making a donation, or becoming a Rainmaker -- a monthly contributor of any amount -- to the Emerald. Even a few bucks a month is a significant help 🙏🏻 Check out the link in my bio to donate, and thanks for considering! #SouthSeattleEmerald #SouthEnd #Seattle #journalism #SeattleJournalism #SeattleNews #SouthSeattlr

Such an honor to report on @originalgentsmc, the first motorcycle club in the world by trans men and transmasc people, for @vice I got to chat with the club about bikes, what it means to be visible in Kansas City, and their annual TDOR ride. "I'd like to see it become a national motorcycle club, if not international," said Hunter Wills, who rides a Harley Street Glide Special. "I want the club to be there for people who need it, who need somewhere to go and where they can be themselves even if they don't have anywhere else in the world." Check out the story at the link in my bio 🔗👆🏻 Photos by @barrettemke #OriginalGentsMC #trans #transgender #transmasculine #transman #transmasc #lgbtq #transbrotherhood

@waywardvegancafe is closing 💔 I had the privilege of covering the story (and some cool backstories about punk + activist scenes, and vegan spots pre-Wayward) for @thestrangerseattle Many thanks to @talon.hippo @darbytrashtattoos @gangofcentaurs @jugglemare for their help with this. Go show Wayward some love irl and online ♥️🥞☕ August 30 is their last day of service. P.s. It doesn't have to be the end! Wayward is open to buyers #vegan #veganSeattle #Seattlevegan #plantbasedSeattle #Seattle #veganrestaurants #waywardvegancafe #thestrangerseattle #SeattleHistory #UDistrict

Honored to write a Seattle queer cocktail tour with local star Adé A Cônnére as a guide! Find out why @rebar_seattle_ was such an important place for Adé, and how the first incarnation of @ponyseattle was the "ultimate playground for us queer misfits." Check it out at @punch_drink Link in bio 🔗 📸: @amberfouts #Seattle #PonySeattle #QueerSeattle #lgbtq #Kremwerk #rebarseattle #thecrescentlounge #queercocktails #queerowned

It was an incredible honor to write about Clyde Robinson, Seattle's last Buffalo Soldier, who passed on April 14 at 101 years old ("101 and a half," he would say, as I was told). "According to those who met Clyde Robinson, he rarely talked about himself unprompted. But those who were close to the World War II veteran and knew his story were privy to a living legend, one of Seattle's last surviving Buffalo Soldiers -- the men who served in the four all-Black U.S. Army regiments founded after the Civil War -- whose contributions are often left out of history. A longtime resident of Skyway, Robinson died April 14. He was 101. Robinson was not only one of the last significant ties to an important piece of Seattle's Black history, but a stalwart who was dedicated to the preservation of Buffalo Soldier history. Glenn Tinned, Robinson's nephew, remembered him as 'a very dignified man. He would tell me stories of how he grew up with one pair of overalls and no shoes. But if you looked at his closet as an adult, you would see the sharpest-dressed man in the building.'" Photo by @bettinahansen Thanks to @cplhouse for her edits and help with this piece 🙏 Read the full story at the link in my bio 🔗 #SeattleTimes #SeattleHistory #SeattleBlackHistory #BuffaloSoldiers #SeattleNews #Seattle #ClydeRobinson

Honored to report on the debut of @nojudgmentfitness.seattle in #whitecenter 🏋️‍♂️🏳️‍🌈⚧️ for @southseattleemerald "There's a new fitness studio in White Center, and it's doing things a little differently. For starters, the queer- and woman-owned No Judgment Fitness has an unexpected logo: a pink sprinkle donut with a bite missing. The approximately 900-square-foot fitness space at 11019 10th Ave. SW has no mirrors, no scales, and no weight-loss contests, and it forbids diet talk. It's also very proudly LGBTQ+ inclusive. At the top of No Judgement Fitness' website, the words "Welcoming All Trans, Nonbinary and Gender Nonconforming Bodies, Cis, Too," are written in all caps. With its grand opening at the beginning of April, No Judgment Fitness aims to be a place for people who want to get into fitness, but don't feel at home in most gyms." Read more at the link in my bio 🔗🤗 Photo of No Judgement Fitness' founder and trainer Sophia Walker (left) and her wife, Bernadette Wright (right). 📸 Photo by @chloetry #seattle #seattlenews #whitecenterseattle #queerowned #womanowned #southseattleemerald #southseattle #southend #lgbtqowned #markthewriter