We started out asking recent NBJC Board Member Vallerie Wagner for a brief interview and ended up with a conversational profile that feels like you are speaking with her in your living room. Her many years of LGBT and AIDS activism culminate in her current position as the Director of Education at AIDS Project Los Angeles. She was the first woman to receive a master's degree in engineering from Tuskegee Institute, and has continued blazing new trails ever since.
As a Californian, Vallerie will be participating in this week's Black Church Summit, National Town Hall, and will be at Friday's Welcome Reception. Stop by and introduce yourself!
in conversation with Jason W. Bartlett
I see my "job" as existing on two fronts; my paid work and my volunteer work. Both are equally important and feed me in different ways. When I look at it in that manner, I probably put between 60-80 hours per week (including weekends) into my job; but actually I feel like I'm always on! It's hard to turn off when you're working in this field; my life IS LGBT advocacy and HIV/AIDS.
I spent an amazing 3 semesters at Tuskegee. The city is wrapped in history; I mean how could you not get caught up in the richness of such a signifcant school/city in Black American history. It was also the place where I came into true realization of my sexuality. Funny, that seems almost more significant to me. Don't get me wrong, the education I received there was phenomenal; I was challenged and challenged myself in ways that certainly prepared me for my future—both professionally and personally. I was surprised when they told me I would be the first woman to receive a Masters in Engineering. There was one other woman in my class who had entered Tuskegee the semester before I did. It just turned out that I completed my course and thesis requirements before she did. While it was great to be the first woman to graduate from Tuskegee with a Masters in Engineering; it's not something that a lot of people know. Simply because I don't make a big deal about it. I'm am extremely grateful for the opportunity that resulted in that accomplishment!
My experiences growing up in the South are a part of who I am and I draw on them everyday. I wouldn't change any of the things about my childhood and the experiences of the Jim Crow South. My activism was born there; my beliefs and the things that I hold dear were born and nurtured there. It amazes me that some people seem to think that racism is a product of the South or doesn't exist outside the boundaries of the southern states; I have friends here in LA who claim they've never experienced racism. I find that hard to believe.
But, for me, the South was a fertile learning ground. The good side—where communities really worked together and supported each other; and the not so good side—where people were judged by the color of their skin and relegated to second class treatment and access. But I appreciate the blatant racism that existed; not because of the limitations, but because it taught me how to strive beyond externally imposed restrictions, and how not to let what other people thought of me affect what I thought of me. I learned from an early age that I could be whatever and do whatever I set my mind on achieving. I had great teachers along the way; people who looked like me, and those who didn't but who were able to see beyond the color of my skin. No matter how long I live in LA, I will always be a southern girl.
Again, I think the beginnings of my activism lie in my experiences growing up in the South. There was something about being the 'only one' in an environment that brought out the fighter in me—the determination that I was going to change that paradigm. I refused to believe that just because I was Black that I couldn't or shouldn't. I remember reading a plaque in my father's office once that said 'you were either part of the problem or part of the solution.' In my young mind, I decided that I was going to always strive to be part of the solution. Being considered an underdog made we want to work harder to prove that I wasn't an underdog and to do all I could to bring as many of my friends along with me as possible. I was planning protests against injustices when I was in elementary school. My mother often wonders where this 'radical' daughter came from; and I can safely say that I am my mother's daughter.
