House of Tulip (HOT) is a far-left community land trust founded and led by transgender women that provides housing and resources for the transgender and gender nonconforming communities (TGNC) of New Orleans, Louisiana. ¹ The organization purchases housing, holds it in a trust, then opens it to homeless transgender individuals. HOT also provides personal support and job training for residents, with the eventual goal of home ownership for those it assists. ²

HOT also leads political advocacy campaigns in support of left-of-center LGBT policy. It has actively supported the advancement of legislation that opens women’s sports for transgender women and decriminalizes sex work, while supporting candidates that are transgender. ^{3 4}

HOT is funded by a six-figure grant from the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation (BLMGNF). The foundation made 23 grants to organizations led by transgender people, including HOT. HOT also runs a GoFundMe page which has raised over $400,000 as of August 2021. ^{5 6}

Background

House of Tulip (an acronym for Trans United Leading Intersectional Progress), or HOT, is a community land trust, an ownership form that holds land in trust and charges a rent while selling the structure erected upon it. HOT is designed to provide housing to transgender and “gender nonconforming” people in New Orleans, Louisiana. The organization also provides health care and employment opportunities for residents and eventually leads them to home ownership in some cases. ⁷

The organization was founded by Mariah Moore and Milan Nicole Sherry, who self-identify as transgender women and former sex workers who were once homeless and experienced violence the New Orleans community. ^{8 9}

HOT has acquired a multi-family property that the organization is restoring to provide housing for 10 transgender and gender nonconforming community (TGNC) people at a time. As of August 2021, HOT is also seeking to acquire a community center that will provide space for TGNC people to gather, do schoolwork, obtain hot meals, and take a shower. The organization’s longer-term plans include increasing affordable housing stocks in New Orleans and becoming self-sustaining through returns on real estate investments. ¹⁰

The organization has been the subject of a short movie produced by the Film Collaborative. HOT also received a New Orleans City Council proclamation recognizing HOT’s dedication and commitment to providing housing for the LGBT and TGNC communities in New Orleans. ^{11 12}

Political Activities

House of Tulip supported the defeat of Louisiana Senate Bill 156, which would have prevented transgender women and girls from participating on teams and in sporting events designed for cisgender women and girls. The bill passed the legislature but vetoed by Louisiana Governor John Bell Edwards (D), who claimed that the bill would prevent National College Athletic Association (NCAA) and professional sporting events from being hosted in Louisiana. ¹³ During the same legislative session, HOT backed Louisiana House Bill 67 which would have decriminalized sex work and prostitution in Louisiana. The bill died in committee. ¹⁴

Leadership

House of Tulip co-founders and current co-directors are Mariah Moore and Milan Sherry, who act as executive director and director of community support and outreach respectively. ¹⁵

Mariah Moore sits on the New Orleans LGBTQ Task Force that was created by Mayor LaToya Cantrell (D). In 2020, Moore was recognized as one of the 100 most influential African Americans and one of the New Orleans Gambit’s “40 under 40.” Moore also works as a national organizer with the left-wing Transgender Law Center (TLC). As of August 2021, Moore has announced her candidacy for an open seat on the New Orleans City Council. If elected, she would be the first transgender councilmember. ^{16 17}

Milan Sherry is a career left-of-center activist who created the #BlackTransLivesMatter campaign and organized the first New Orleans Trans March. Sherry is also the  co-founder of BreakOUT!, a New Orleans activist organization for LGBT youth, and is a fellow with HIV 360, a program of the left-of-center Human Rights Campaign (HRC). The program is sponsored by the Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) which provides training and support to individuals and leaders protecting those impacted by AIDS. ¹⁸ She is a national board member of Positively Trans, a TLC program led by transgender women of color living with HIV. Sherry formerly worked as the co-coordinator and outreach specialist at the left-of-center Trans Equity Project (TEP) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ^{19 20 21}

Funding

At its inception, House of Tulip launched a GoFundMe page which reports having raised $422,360 as of early August 2021. ²² The organization has since received a six-figure grant from the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation (BLMGNF) as one of 23 trans-led organizations that received a total of $21.3 million from the windfall of donations that BLMGNF received following the death of George Floyd. ²³

As of August 2021, HOT is planning the Hot Summer Celebration, celebrating the one-year anniversary of HOT. The event is planned as a major fundraiser featuring Kelly Price, a nine-time Grammy winning singer. ²⁴

Finances

House of Tulip received its designation as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization in June 2020 and has yet to file a tax return with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as of August 2021. ²⁵

1. “House of Tulip.” House of Tulip. Accessed August 2, 2021. https://houseoftulip.org/.
2. “House of Tulip.” House of Tulip – GuideStar Profile. Accessed August 2, 2021. https://www.guidestar.org/profile/85-1376745.
3. [1] Rahul Garg | National Law U. Jodhpur. “Louisiana House Passes Bill Requiring Schools to Designate Teams and Sporting Events Based on Biological Sex.” Jurist, May 30, 2021. https://www.jurist.org/news/2021/05/louisiana-house-passes-bill-requiring-schools-to-designate-teams-and-sporting-events-based-on-biological-sex/.
4. “LA hb67 Is a Bill That Will Decriminalize Sex Work in Louisiana!: New Orleans DSA (Powered by Donorbox).” Free Donate Button – Donorbox Nonprofit Fundraising Software. Accessed August 2, 2021. https://donorbox.org/sexworkdecrim.
5. “2020 Impact Report.” Black Lives Matter, February 23, 2021. https://blacklivesmatter.com/2020-impact-report/.
6. “Mariah Moore.” The Root. Accessed August 2, 2021. https://interactives.theroot.com/root-100-2020/mariah-moore/.
7. “House of Tulip.” House of Tulip. Accessed August 2, 2021. https://houseoftulip.org/.
8. Clapp, Jake. “’A Long Time Coming’: House of TULIP Puts Trans and Gender-Nonconforming New Orleanians in Control of Their Housing.” NOLA.com, May 31, 2021. https://www.nola.com/gambit/news/the_latest/article_59d5a2c4-bf26-11eb-a463-6b340d8a4c1a.html.
9. Twitter. Twitter. Accessed August 2, 2021. https://twitter.com/houseoftulipno.
10. “Our Vision.” House of Tulip. Accessed August 2, 2021. https://houseoftulip.org/our-vision.
11. House of tulip. Accessed August 2, 2021. https://www.thefilmcollaborative.org/fiscalsponsorship/projects/houseoftulip.
12. “Log in or Sign up to View.” Facebook. Accessed August 2, 2021. https://www.facebook.com/houseoftulip/.
13. Rahul Garg | National Law U. Jodhpur. “Louisiana House Passes Bill Requiring Schools to Designate Teams and Sporting Events Based on Biological Sex.” Jurist, May 30, 2021. https://www.jurist.org/news/2021/05/louisiana-house-passes-bill-requiring-schools-to-designate-teams-and-sporting-events-based-on-biological-sex/.
14. “Louisiana HB67: 2021: Regular Session.” LegiScan. Accessed August 2, 2021. https://legiscan.com/LA/bill/HB67/2021.
15. “Meet Our Team.” Transgender Law Center, July 1, 2021. https://transgenderlawcenter.org/about/staff-and-board.
16. “Meet Our Team.” Transgender Law Center, July 1, 2021. https://transgenderlawcenter.org/about/staff-and-board.
17. Ravits, Sarah. “Transgender Rights Advocate Mariah Moore Will Run for New ORLEANS City Council.” NOLA.com, March 26, 2021. https://www.nola.com/gambit/news/the_latest/article_5eaa439c-8e64-11eb-a276-b307d72b7a19.html.
18. “Staff.” House of Tulip. Accessed August 2, 2021. https://houseoftulip.org/staff.
19. writer, DOUG MACCASH | Staff. “Planned Refuge for New ORLEANS’ Homeless Transgender People Would Be First of Its Kind in U.S.” NOLA.com, July 17, 2020. https://www.nola.com/news/article_708d7fb4-c797-11ea-8aa0-f742a2e5908d.html.
20. “Join US for HIV 360 Fellows ‘Meet & Greet’ Reception!” HRC. Accessed August 2, 2021. https://www.hrc.org/events/hiv-360-fellows-meet-greet-reception.
21. Mrernestowens. “LGBTQ&A: Milan Nicole Sherry.” Philadelphia Magazine. Philadelphia Magazine, October 6, 2017. https://www.phillymag.com/news/2017/10/06/lgbtqa-milan-nicole-sherry/.
22. “Housing for Trans People EXPERIENCING Homelessness, Organized by Milan Nicole Sherry.” gofundme.com. Accessed August 2, 2021. https://www.gofundme.com/f/housing-for-tgnc-people-experiencing-homelessness.
23. “2020 Impact Report.” Black Lives Matter, February 23, 2021. https://blacklivesmatter.com/2020-impact-report/.
24. “Log in or Sign up to View.” Facebook. Accessed August 2, 2021. https://www.facebook.com/KellyPriceFans.
25. “Irs.gov Applications.” Details about House of tulip. Accessed August 2, 2021. https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/detailsPage?ein=851376745&name=House+of+Tulip&city=New+Orleans&state=LA&countryAbbr=US&dba=&type=CHARITIES%2C+DETERMINATIONLETTERS&orgTags=DETERMINATIONLETTERS.