Interviewee: Jamie Roberts
Interviewer: Ashby Combahee
Date of interview: October 24, 2021
Interviewee: Jamie Roberts
Interviewer: Ashby Combahee
Date of interview: November 14, 2021
Biography:
Jamie Roberts (she/her) was born and raised as a male in Griffin, Georgia. She graduated from Georgia College and State University in 1994 with a B.S. in Psychology, and graduated in 1999 from the University of Georgia School of Law with a Juris Doctor. Jamie transitioned to female in the late nineties. She has been a Public Defender in the Coweta Judicial Circuit of Georgia, and is one of the founding members of the Trans Housing Atlanta Program (THAP). She has served as a board member for Georgia Equality, a statewide organization advancing fairness for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Georgians. Her interests include history, videography, acting, and exploring sacred traditions, particularly as they relate to gender nonconformity.
Abstract, October 24, 2021:
Jamie Roberts reflects on her upbringing in Griffin, Georgia, sharing that she was raised in the 1970s-1980s in the Southern Baptist Church. She describes her relationship with spirituality, including periods of agnosticism, atheism, and paganism. As an adult, Jamie became active in the Maetreum of Cybele in Palenville, New York, where she participated in a trans-affirming Pagan revival movement until 2008. During her time at Georgia State University School of Law, Jamie became knowledgeable about transgender law, and this expertise helped her contribute to various advocacy movements, starting with her participation in the Atlanta Gender Explorations support group with activist Erin Swenson. From there, Jamie went on to work with Georgia Legal Services Program and Central City AIDS Network. In the 2000s, Jamie and activist Dee Dee Chamblee organized LaGender, a trans advocacy nonprofit. Later, Jamie collaborated with Tracee McDaniel and Cheryl Courtney-Evans to found the Trans Housing Atlanta Program. Throughout the interview, Jamie discusses additional activist efforts, including her time as board chair for Georgia Equality and Mega Family Project, and her involvement with Southern Comfort, a major transgender conference in the 2000s.
Abstract, November 11, 2021:
Jamie Roberts describes queer activism in Georgia in the early 2000s, explaining how marriage equality mobilization in Atlanta became the platform for radical progressives to push for further change. According to Jamie, these efforts produced Queer Progressive Agenda (QPA), a group that included activists such as Deepil Gokhale and Lorraine Fontana, and that strived to place trans advocacy at the forefront of its mission. Jamie recalls a core group of leaders establishing QPA Base Camp, which sought to build a multiracial coalition within the queer community. She goes on to discuss additional political efforts, describing her involvement in the Green Party in the 1990s, the Coweta County Democratic Party during the Obama administration, Occupy Atlanta in 2011, and the Democratic Party of Georgia during the Biden-Harris campaign. Circling back to trans advocacy, Jamie shares the story of Alice Johnston and how the trans housing crisis led her to organize with activists Tracee McDaniel and Cheryl Courtney-Evans to build a community response through the Trans Housing Atlanta Program. Throughout the interview, Jamie discusses her career, recalling tensions in the Troup County Drug Court and becoming involved with the film industry. At the time of recording, Jamie reported that she had recently returned to practice law at a criminal defense firm.
Special Collections and Archives
Gender and Sexuality Collections: Subject Guide
Phone: (404) 413-2880
E-Mail: archives@gsu.edu
Mailing Address:
Special Collections & Archives
Georgia State University Library
100 Decatur Street, SE
Atlanta, Georgia 30303-3202
In Person:
Library South, 8th floor
