Jazzie Collins

Jazzie Collins (September 24, 1958 – July 11, 2013) was an African American trans woman activist and community organizer for transgender rights, disability rights, and economic equality in San Francisco. Her activism spanned a decade and a wide variety of community organizations, boards, and initiatives focusing on fighting for the rights of minority communities.

Collins was born to a teenage mother in Memphis, Tennessee on September 24, 1958.^[1][2] She was born into a strict Baptist family and experienced abuse in foster care.^[3] She graduated from Job Corps and later worked as a construction worker and as a hospital orderly.^[3]

She moved to San Francisco in 1988 and transitioned a few years later, in her late 40s.^[2][1] Collins was open about being HIV-positive.^[2]

Collins was active in San Francisco activism in multiple overlapping areas, including tenants' rights, labor rights, transgender rights, and aging and health issues.^[2] She began her activist work in earnest in 2002, challenging development plans at the Plaza Hotel on Sixth Street.^[2]

Collins served as the vice chair of San Francisco's LGBT Aging Policy Taskforce and as the vice chair of the Lesbian Gay Transgender Senior Disabled Housing Task Force.^[4][3] She was a community organizer for Senior and Disability Action, an organization dedicated to defending the rights of seniors and disabled people.^[2] She ran the "6th Street Agenda" food pantry and was one of the founders of Queers for Economic Equality Now (QUEEN).^[5]

In 2003, she was a member of the Prop L Committee, successfully directing efforts to raise the minimum wage in San Francisco.^[6] Collins also helped organize tenant action for the Tenderloin Housing Clinic.^[6]

For five years Collins served on the board of directors of the San Francisco Trans March, an annual gathering and protest march.^[4]

In June 2013, Collins was honored on the floor of the California state capitol by the Legislative Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Caucus for her advocacy work for justice and equality.^[7]

Collins died in San Francisco on July 11, 2013.^[4] She was remembered by one of the organizations she was dedicated to, Senior and Disability Action, as "fearless, inspiring, loving," and as a "beloved fighter".^[8]

The first homeless shelter in the United States for the adult LGBT community was opened in 2015 and named Jazzie's Place in honor of Collins.^[9] The shelter, located in San Francisco's Mission District, is operated by Dolores Street Community Services and is intended to serve as a safe haven for the homeless LGBT population, who are at a greater risk of violence and abuse.^[9][10]