Mrs. Daroneshia Duncan-Boyd is an unapologetically Black, trans woman, a southerner, and the Executive Director of TAKE Resource Center, a trans people of color-led organization headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama.
Mrs. Duncan-Boyd has a deep commitment and passion for this work. As an out trans woman, born and raised in Alabama, she has experienced physical and sexual violence, workplace and housing discrimination, and the spiritual toll of exclusion from church and community. She remembers acutely what it was like to be honored for her advocacy even as she struggled with addiction and engaged in sex work simply to survive. Her work at TAKE reflects her commitment to transform the intent behind the hashtags of #NotOneMore and #SayHerName into a set of impactful strategies, programs, and resources that honor the lives of those that have been taken too soon, and creates pathways for, by, and with those that are still here.
Mrs. Duncan-Boyd’s vision for TAKE started as a peer support group in 2013. She opened the doors to the physical location for TAKE in 2017. Since then, she has built a powerful leadership team, and together they have built one of the most impactful, trans-led organizations in the south. TAKE provides an array of services, including but not limited to: programs that support trans and non-binary people to navigate and manage unemployment; incarceration and community re-entry; homelessness; HIV and AIDS; addiction; mental health issues; and violence. Resources and services include a clothing boutique, peer support, and access to food security.
Much of Mrs. Duncan-Boyd’s work centers trans women of color; however, her commitment, vision, and heart are firmly grounded in and connected to the broader work of racial, gender, economic, and LGBTQIA+ justice.
Mrs. Duncan-Boyd’s leadership has been recognized and featured on HBO’s Wyatt Cenac’s Problem Areas. She has been honored as an “Alabama Champion of Pride.” She has also been featured in The Advocate magazine and recognized as one of the “Top 7 Inspiring LGBTQ Leaders in Alabama.”