Amid Jamaica’s lush beaches and reggae rhythms my fight for survival began. I mourn the home I never had, the safe childhood, and the love without condition. But I also honor the strength my experiences forged within me. What happens when home is the place you fear the most?
I was born in 1993 in Kingston, Jamaica to a world that never truly welcomed me. By age four, my mother passed away leaving my grandmother and aunts to raise me in the heart of Maverly, Jamaica. Survival, silence, and resilience marked my early life because of my sexuality.
In Jamaica, being gay isn’t just a taboo, it can be a death sentence. In 2014, Human Rights Watch released a report detailing widespread violence and discrimination against LGBTQ+ Jamaicans where mob attacks, police indifference, and social ostracism are part of the everyday reality. I spent years hiding behind a persona, dating women, playing soccer, and leading worship at church. I tried any way that I could to mask who I am.
That mask was violently ripped away on December 20, 2013. While leaving a restaurant in downtown Kingston with friends, I was ambushed by a mob. “Luk at dem battyboi, wi fi kill dem,” someone shouted (translated: Look at those gay men, we should kill them). Armed with knives and batons, the mob attacked. I escaped physically, but emotionally, something shattered.
When I reported the assault to the police days later, the trauma only deepened. The officer looked me in the eye and told me he doesn’t take reports from gay men. The encounter felt like being attacked all over again.
My story is not an anomaly in Jamaica. In 2012, a student was reportedly beaten by classmates in full view of others, simply for being perceived as gay. The case ignited widespread debate, but little legal protection followed. After the incident, the message to me was clear – survive or leave.
On Christmas Eve in 2013, I boarded a plane to the United States, abandoning my education and the only country I ever called home. I arrived as an asylum seeker with nothing but the will to live and the fire to fight for others. In the U.S., my life transformed. I earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a master’s degree in legal studies. I am currently pursuing a Juris Doctor at John F. Kennedy School of Law with the goal of becoming an immigration attorney specializing in asylum law. I chair the LGBTQ+ & Allies Affinity Group for the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.
My legal career is no accident. I came to the U.S. to survive, but now I serve. Every time I see a client who reminds me of who I used to be – terrified and displaced – I remember why I chose my path.
Outside of the courtroom, I worked with the British Embassy, to serve in local campaigns, organize Pride events, and participate in panel discussions that amplify LGBTQ+ voices, particularly from immigrant and Caribbean communities. I want to create the kind of world where I desired to grow up.
In a world where headlines often reduce queer Caribbean lives to tragedy or statistics, I believe that I am rewriting the narrative: one courtroom, one community, one courageous truth at a time.
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