The actor, author, and activist fostered events and understanding on trans rights and the New York City Ballroom community.
Tobagonian-and-Trinidadian-American actress, author, model, and LGBTQ+ community advocate Dominique Jackson has wrapped up her time as NYU Steinhardt’s 2023–2024 Scholar-in-Residence. During this impactful year, Jackson collaborated with the School on public and internal events that highlighted transgender rights, the New York City Ballroom community, and more.
“The past year has been a thrill because for a university like NYU to embrace the trans community speaks volumes,” says Jackson, who is known for her acting work on Pose, American Horror Stories, American Gods, and more. “A lot of students here are trans folks, and I am so excited to stand in this space and help bring visibility to them as NYU does the work to recognize, acknowledge, and support the trans community.”
Jackson participated in a range of events during her time at Steinhardt, including teaching a runway class in October. “That was beyond, because we had teachers and students learning how to walk with confidence on the runway of the streets and the world,” says Jackson, who is a resident model to Adrian Alicea Couture, Manuel Pelferes Couture, and Angel Ayala Couture.
The April 2024 FEM QUEEN event brought together legends of the Ballroom community.
In April, Jackson participated in a packed event at NYU Skirball alongside other icons of the Ballroom community to discuss Ballroom culture, including fashion and performance.
“The spring collaboration was to represent the Fem Queen through fashion, showcasing the armor that she wears to protect herself; the Fem Queen is not some embellished doll, but a hard-worn diamond that’s been under pressure from herself, her family, and society for many years, yet still she shines,” says Jackson. “We had designers and Fem Queens from the Ballroom scene who worked with NYU students to create costumes that honored the pioneers of the community, from the women who are still here to the ones who are no longer with us.”
The event concluded with a performance by the Dance Education students choreographed to a speech Jackson gave when she won an award from the American Human Rights Campaign (HRC) group for her work as an LGBTIQ+ and trans advocate.
The Fem Queen is not some embellished doll, but a hard-worn diamond that’s been under pressure from herself, her family, and society for many years, yet still she shines.
"Dominique's residency with NYU Steinhardt captured the best of who we all can be,” says Hua-Yu Sebastian Cherng, NYU Steinhardt’s Vice Dean for Research and Equity, whose Office of Diversity, Equity, and Belonging hosts the Scholar-in-Residence program. “Dominique’s vision of her residency was to reflect the core of the NYC Ballroom scene in NYU Steinhardt, which, for example, created synergies between our art students and Ballroom designers and our dance education students and Ballroom movement experts. Her intentionality highlighted our shared dedication to uplift and advocate for the most marginalized among us. Dominique is an icon of our times, and we are humbled to have been graced by her brilliance and generosity."
On a personal note, Jackson also says her time at NYU Steinhardt gives a bit of resolve to a commitment she made to her grandmother.
“I always wanted to complete my degree for my grandmother, but then my career took off and I thought that time had passed me by,” says Jackson. “Being able to do this residency at NYU Steinhardt gave me the chance to show that I can still be part of the academic conversation: I’m still changing lives, and I’m still doing my best. Being here at NYU is an honor to all these women who came before me and gave me the ability to help people look for what they can do, not what they can’t do.”
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