Yahoo Lifestyle 'Wrapping my arms around every Black trans woman': Model Jari Jones celebrates 30th birthday with empowering message
Model and activist Jari Jones is spreading the love on her birthday.
On Tuesday, Jones shared several sun-kissed photos rocking various swimsuits on a beach, and there were other pics of her wearing a brightly colored sundress while she held two birthday cakes and a short pastel-colored dress while in a park on vacation in Honolulu. She captioned the photo dump announcing that she made it to 30, which unfortunately as a trans Black woman, is becoming harder to do.
"Making it to 30.....I need to say it again 'MAKING IT TO 30!!!!!!!!' Today as I transition into another decade of my life I am wrapping my arms around every BLACK TRANS WOMAN , who is breathing this morning , every BLACK TRANS WOMAN who is surviving today , every BLACK TRANS WOMAN who is able to live today !!! In a world that has tried to destroy my body , take my heart and kill my spirit , I can shout at the top of my lungs that I made it today. We made it today ! Blessed be the village that has pulled me through , that has held me , that has nurtured me , that has loved me unconditionally," she wrote in part.
She added an inspiring message not only for herself but also for other trans people.
"Here’s to thriving," she continued, "here’s to breaking more barriers , here’s to shattering more ceilings. Here’s to showing up and showing out. Here’s to conquering everything they said you couldn’t. And to the Black Trans Women , who didn’t get to 30, your spirit has transitioned into your sisters. We carry your dreams , your hopes, your legacy. We honor you by existing and will continue to fight to exist."
Model friends and fans took to the comments to send birthday wishes and praising her for bringing awareness to trans issues.
"Happy birthday love," model Dexter Mayfield said.
"Finally seeing someone that looks like me and is like me. Sis, you are everything," a fan wrote.
"Truly a BLESSING to witness you and have you walking the same plane of existence as us. Happiest of Birthdays, Angel," someone added.
"She said thirty flirty an THRIVINGGGGGGGGGGGG happy birthday mama," a commenter continued, quoting from the popular film 13 Going on 30.
Last year, Jones celebrated her first Calvin Klein billboard, which appeared in downtown Manhattan. In an interview with Teen Vogue in September, she noted that she maintains her sense of self by pulling herself out of the idea of a model.
"It brings me back to what I’m actually doing this for and who I’m actually doing this for," she explained. "It doesn’t feel like I’m doing this to become famous, or I’m doing this to be well known. I’m doing this for representation, I’m doing this for that young trans kid, young queer people, so they can be like, 'I can do this too.' If that’s something they want to pursue, they have a possibility model, they have a blueprint saying that they have the option to do it. I find a lot of ground in connecting with the people who are going to come after me, or people who are coming up, because that’s what I really want to do."
Video: Jari Jones 'overwhelmed' by her Calvin Klein billboard
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