Our History
Frustration sparks action
In 2015, our Founder Jack Knoxville became the first trans man to run for political office in the Southern United States.
At 35 years old, Jack had finally landed a job that provided him with insurance for one of the first times in his adult life. Unfortunately, that role would be short-lived, as Jack was fired from his job for beginning his medical transition. Because TN is a right-to-work state, no one seemed to care about this injustice.
Frustrated, Jack began seeking medical help while he still could. Hoping to be able to at least get started on Testosterone, Jack tried desperately to get help.
Unfortunately, no one that Jack called in all of East TN would see him. That’s when he found Planned Parenthood in Asheville, NC. The site was very welcoming and offered him an appointment rather quickly, but not before his insurance ran out.
The $165 out-of-pocket expense, along with the 110 mile drive across a mountain, was a lot to wrap his head around, but Jack pulled it off.
Meeting the Mayor, Meeting the Future
A short time after that, marriage equality passed. One of the couples who was suing for the right to marry was from Knoxville, TN so the town was holding a large rally to celebrate.
Excited about connecting with community members, Jack headed to the rally. While there, he had the chance to meet the mayor of Knoxville. Shooting his shot, Jack approached the woman who had just spoken in support of LGBTQ+ rights to see if he could make plans to talk about trans rights sometime. He thought for sure, that if she heard his story, it might make an impact.
Unfortunately, he was instead blown off as the mayor pointed to a crowd of 4,000 mostly white folks and said “Sure, you can talk to my assistant Matt”.
Annoyed and shocked, Jack looked at her and said “Let me get right on that. By the way my name is Jack Knoxville have you ever heard of me?”
She said “No”. To which Jack replied, “You will”.
A short time later, Jack saw a news article that the mayor who was up for reelection was running unopposed. It was the last day for anyone to register even as a write-in candidate and it seemed the local news outlets were calling it.
Jack, however, knew right then what he had to do.
Running for Office
After securing all of the signatures he needed, Jack threw his hat in the ring as a write-in candidate.
With no previous experience, our founder generated $90 in donations for his campaign, which he used to have stickers of his face made. These stickers were then plastered around the town and they managed to land Jack a job canvassing as a brand ambassador, which allowed him the opportunity to talk to constituents as he did his work.
The more he spoke with others in the trans community the more he heard the similarities of experiences they were each having.
It started with a clothing swap!
After hearing how many trans people in East TN were also experiencing dysphoria, depression, and isolation, Jack knew there had to be a better way. After all, each and every person he was meeting was an amazing human!
His first act was to ask his friends to help round up a resource that he knew there was an abundance of; clothing.
Together, they organized a clothing swap, which was held at an artist collective house in Knoxville called the Bird House.
He then reached out to the two reproductive health groups in the area and invited them to speak to the community and to table at this event.
With music, friends, and an outpouring of community support, Trans Empowerment Project was born.
Since that night in 2016, we have grown to be one of the largest providers of direct aid in the U.S. for the trans community!