Rev. Dr. Trinity Ordona, A Queer Filipina American Activist Scholar
Her Journey from Political Revolutionary to Human Evolutionary
This essay includes an interview with Rev. Dr. Trinity A. Ordona, a recognized revolutionary political activist, community organizer, college teacher, and spiritual adviser. The interview highlights the political, academic, and spiritual paths of her journey as it relates to Ethnic Studies—past, present, and future.
INTRODUCTION
Rev. Dr. Trinity A. Ordona is a recognized revolutionary political activist, community organizer, college teacher, and spiritual adviser whom I have known for two decades now. I first met Trinity when I enrolled in the “LGBT 50: Queer People of Color” class that she created and taught at the City College of San Francisco (CCSF). Thereafter, Trinity served as a mentor and friend, offering timely advice and guidance as I navigated the challenges of academia. Over the years, we stayed connected by participating in educational and activist spaces throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Our most significant critical conversations were on social movements, intersectionality, spirituality, social justice, and decolonization. It is not often that I encounter a veteran Queer activist scholar of color, like Trinity, with a lifelong history and commitment to grassroots organizing who is also rooted in nontraditional spiritual and healing practices. In the five-decade span of her activist life, Trinity has been a co-founder, board member, and leader of numerous local, national, and international initiatives and organizations. She has also received scholarships, grants, fellowships, and awards, such as the Lesbian of Achievement, Vision and Action Award (1996), Northern California GLBT Historical Society Award for Individual Historic Achievement (1998), UCSF Chancellor’s Award for Public Service (1998), and the Phoenix Award for Outstanding Community Service (2008). Curve Magazine named Trinity among the “20 Most Influential Lesbian Professors in the US” in 2008, and her scholarship includes several publications (see references at the end of the interview). Now retired from college teaching, Trinity continues to offer spiritual guidance and training in psychic healing along with her sister, Francesca Ordona Hollingsworth, through their private practice.
Rev. Dr. Trinity A. Ordona is a recognized revolutionary political activist, community organizer, college teacher, and spiritual adviser whom I have known for two decades now. I first met Trinity when I enrolled in the “LGBT 50: Queer People of Color” class that she created and taught at the City College of San Francisco (CCSF). Thereafter, Trinity served as a mentor and friend, offering timely advice and guidance as I navigated the challenges of academia. Over the years, we stayed connected by participating in educational and activist spaces throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Our most significant critical conversations were on social movements, intersectionality, spirituality, social justice, and decolonization. It is not often that I encounter a veteran Queer activist scholar of color, like Trinity, with a lifelong history and commitment to grassroots organizing who is also rooted in nontraditional spiritual and healing practices. In the five-decade span of her activist life, Trinity has been a co-founder, board member, and leader of numerous local, national, and international initiatives and organizations. She has also received scholarships, grants, fellowships, and awards, such as the Lesbian of Achievement, Vision and Action Award (1996), Northern California GLBT Historical Society Award for Individual Historic Achievement (1998), UCSF Chancellor’s Award for Public Service (1998), and the Phoenix Award for Outstanding Community Service (2008). Curve Magazine named Trinity among the “20 Most Influential Lesbian Professors in the US” in 2008, and her scholarship includes several publications (see references at the end of the interview). Now retired from college teaching, Trinity continues to offer spiritual guidance and training in psychic healing along with her sister, Francesca Ordona Hollingsworth, through their private practice.
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