Meet the female grand marshal identifying Pride Houston 365

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Growing up in a military family in the Midwest, Joelle Espeut didn’t have the supportive environment she needed to live authentically. After moving to Houston about seven years ago, she now works to create, empower, and fulfill Black trans women.

Espeut was born in Germany, where she spent the first four years of her life. Both of her parents were in the military, so they moved around a lot until her family settled in St. Louis, Missouri.

She explained how difficult it was to navigate her gender identity there as a teenager.

“I always felt uncomfortable because as a kid, I knew that this outward presentation of my identity wasn’t who I was. I just didn’t have the language for it,” Espeut said. “I really didn’t have the freedom to really explore. It was the Midwest. It was St. Louis. It was the late ’90s, and so there wasn’t really a brave space to really explore identity.”

She explained that her parents were unsupportive and unaccepting of her transgender status, which led her to further repress how she wanted to express herself.

That’s why she made the decision to move to Los Angeles when she was just 17 years old. Not only was it a place that allowed Espeut to be her most authentic self, but it also allowed her to pursue a career in fashion for over a decade. However, she still faced discrimination in the workplace as a transgender woman.

“I’ve worked in companies that were more open and accepting. But as soon as I said I was trans, it was like a switch went off. I experienced a lot of transphobia. At that point, I was leading a management team with a decade of experience. It was almost like privileges were taken away from me immediately,” Espeut shared.

It was around this time that Espeut’s stepfather was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer, which brought her back to St. Louis for a short time. Looking to find a new direction in her life after his passing, she moved to Houston after friends told her there was a thriving Black LGBTQ+ community there.

Through social media, she connected with other members of Houston’s black LGBTQ+ community and ended up working in the nonprofit sector. Today, she works as the Director of Programming for Normal Anomaly and strives to bridge gaps and break down barriers for others like her.

“I focus on Black trans women because of all the things that are happening to us in society, from safety, unemployment, housing insecurity, to murder,” Espeut said. “My work is really rooted in creating brave spaces that not only highlight Black trans women, but empower them as leaders in our community and give them the tools to advocate for themselves,” Espeut said.

RELATED: Pride Houston 365 announces seven grand marshals for this year’s LGBTQ+ celebration

This year, Espeut has been named the transgender community marshal for the 46th annual Houston Pride Parade on Saturday. As she prepares for the event, she wants others in the transgender community to know that there are people fighting for them and that they are not alone.

“When we go on this journey, it can be very isolating. People ask me why I’m in Texas. They say it’s a horrible, terrible place for trans people. I tell them it’s because this is where the work needs to be done. Why? Because they want us to live in fear. That’s why I stay visible, to me, it’s important for people to know that there is a Black trans woman living here unapologetically in Texas,” Espeut said.

For more information on Espout’s work, visit the Normal Anomaly website.

To view details on the 46th Annual Houston LGBTQ+ Pride Celebration, visit the Pride Houston 365 website.

ABC13 is the official media partner of Pride Houston 365. You can watch Espeut and the six other grand marshals in the 46th annual Pride Houston parade on Saturday, June 29 on ABC13’s live stream at 7:30 p.m.