Bobbi Jean Baker
Bobbi Jean Baker | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 20, 1964 |
| Died | (aged 49) |
| Occupation(s) | Activist, minister |
Bobbi Jean Baker (March 20, 1964 – January 1, 2014) was an American transgender activist and minister.[1]
Early life
[edit]She was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and moved to San Francisco from Tennessee in 1992.[2][3] Baker struggled with drug use and legal challenges in San Francisco, stating in an interview: "I was doing sex work, smoking crack and on speed, and was a fugitive from justice … I was extradited back to Tennessee to serve a four-year prison sentence."[4]
Ministry and advocacy work
[edit]During a multi-day bus ride back to San Francisco following completion of her prison sentence, Baker decided to focus her life on advocacy. In 2001, a supervisor at the Tenderloin AIDS Resource Center gave her a paid position to lead transgender groups.[4] She served as a case manager, domestic violence specialist, housing manager, and peer advocate.[3] Additionally, she was a lay minister at Transcending Transgender Ministries and an ordained minister at City Refuge United Church of Christ, and the West Coast Regional TransSaints Minister of the Fellowship of Affirming Ministries.[5][1] She served as an adjutant to Bishop Yvette Flunder, who said the following of Baker: "she believed her ministry was to help transgender people reconcile their spirituality but also to help provide practical assistance, such as food housing, and self-care."[4] For over ten years she was part of the transgender group Transcendence Gospel Choir.[1][6]
Death and legacy
[edit]She died at age 49 on January 1, 2014, on New Year's Day after a car crash.[5][1] After leading a New Year's Eve service at the City of Refuge Oakland, Baker went to deacon Bobby Wiseman's home for a meal. As Wiseman was driving Baker home later that night, their car was hit by another vehicle and Baker was killed.[4]
Footage of an interview with Baker was included in the documentary film Major!, about the life of transgender activist Miss Major Griffin-Gracy.[7] Baker was later portrayed by Jazzmun in the 2017 miniseries When We Rise.[3]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Marie, Parker (2014-01-10). "Bobbie Jean Baker, Trans Activist and Minister, Dead at Age 49". The Advocate. Retrieved 2017-03-29.
- ^ "Transgender Oakland minister mourned after fatal New Year's Day crash". Mercury News. 2014-01-08. Retrieved 2017-03-29.
- ^ a b c Werder, Corinne (2017-02-27). "Meet the Real Women Featured in "When We Rise"". GO. Retrieved 2017-03-29.
- ^ a b c d "Rev. Bobbie Jean Baker". Archived from the original on 2020-06-12.
- ^ a b "43 East Bay Residents Who Made a Difference". Alameda Magazine. January–February 2015. Archived from the original on 2017-03-30. Retrieved 2017-03-29.
- ^ Marech, Rona (2012-01-28). "SAN FRANCISCO / Singing the gospel of Transcendence / Nation's first all-transgender gospel choir raises its voices to praise God and lift their own feelings of self-love and dignity". SFGate. Archived from the original on 2014-05-09. Retrieved 2020-06-12.
- ^ Nichols, James Michael (2013-10-02). "'MAJOR!' Filmmakers Annalise Ophelian And StormMiguel Florez Discuss Transgender Documentary". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2017-04-13.
- 1964 births
- 2014 deaths
- Activists from Tennessee
- African-American activists
- African-American Christian clergy
- American Christian clergy
- American Protestant ministers and clergy
- African-American LGBTQ people
- LGBTQ people from Tennessee
- LGBTQ Protestant clergy
- American LGBTQ rights activists
- American transgender women
- Religious leaders from Memphis, Tennessee
- Road incident deaths in California
- Transgender rights activists
- United Church of Christ ministers
- Women Protestant religious leaders
- 20th-century African-American people
- 21st-century African-American people
- 20th-century American LGBTQ people
- 21st-century American LGBTQ people
- Transgender Christian clergy