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Non-profit

TransLatin@ Coalition

Location:

LOS ANGELES, CA
Tax ID:

27-3801872
Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(3)

Budget (2019):

Revenue: $1,052,988
Expenses: $853,039
Assets: $659,176
Location:

Los Angeles, California
Type:

Transgender Activism
Founded:

2009
President:

Bamby Salcedo

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The TransLatin@ Coalition (TLC) is a left-of-center political advocacy organization based in California. The organization supports left-wing policy on transgender issues, including California legislation that would require inmates to be housed in facilities according to their gender identities, regardless of biological sex. 1 TLC has also endorsed a broad left-of-center agenda, including on issues unrelated to the LGBT community. 2

History

The TransLatin@ Coalition (TLC) was founded in 2009 by a group of transgender, gender-nonconforming, and intersex (TGI) immigrant women living in Los Angeles. The organization was formed specifically to advocate on behalf of TGI immigrants in the United States. 3

In 2015, TLC established the Center for Violence Prevention and Transgender Wellness in Los Angeles, which provides direct aid services to transgender persons. In addition to its direct aid work, TLC advocates for left-of-center policy on issues including criminal justice, health care, workplace regulations, and housing. Though it claims to have expanded to ten different states, TLC’s advocacy work and services are focused in California. 4

Activity

The TransLatin@ Coalition (TLC) engages in left-of-center political advocacy initiatives and provides services to transgender persons in the Los Angeles area. TLC provides leadership and economic development training for transgender persons, supports transgender inmates upon their release from prison, and offers legal services to undocumented transgender immigrants. 5

TLC also runs the Center for Violence Prevention and Transgender Wellness in Los Angeles which provides food, clothing, computers, and English as a second language classes to transgender individuals. The organization also advises transgender persons on seeking medical care and accessing temporary housing programs. 6

Criminal Justice Policy

TLC is involved in promoting left-of-center and left-wing criminal justice policy. In September 2020, TLC co-wrote California Senate Bill 132, along with the left-of-center groups Transgender Law Center and Equality California. The bill sought to allow transgender, gender nonconforming, and intersex inmates to be housed at the correctional facility which corresponded to their gender identities, regardless of the biological sex. The bill’s cosponsors called the bill an “intermediary step” towards “defunding the police and abolishing prisons.” 7 Even left-of-center critics expressed concern that the bill would place women at risk. 8 California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) nonetheless signed the bill later that month. 9  

That same year, TLC supported the controversial Measure J, a ballot initiative which forces Los Angeles County to allocate at least 10 percent of its unrestricted funding to “address racial injustice” by implementing left-of-center criminal justice policy and expanding entitlement programs. The measure passed in November 2020. 10 11

In May 2021, TLC signed a letter published by the left-of-center Human Rights Watch that called on the United Nations to begin a formal inquiry into police violence in the United States. The letter called for an investigation into alleged “systemic racism in law enforcement in the United States.” Other left-wing organizations, including the Communist Party USA and the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America also signed the letter. 12

Discrimination and Representation Issues

The TransLatin@ Coalition (TLC) has led advocacy campaigns to expand left-of-center discrimination protections for transgender people. In 2018, TLC led protests after the Trump administration proposed to re-interpret the word “sex” as being based on biological sex, rather than professed gender identity. TLC organizers called on cisgender people to donate to and vote for left-of-center candidates to promote pro-LGBT policy. 13 That same month, TLC activists unveiled a transgender flag with the words “trans people deserve to live” at the World Series game to protest the same proposed change. 14

In October 2019, TLC protestors interrupted a CNN Town Hall on LGBT issues with Democratic presidential candidates to protest alleged “violence” against African American transgender women. The protestors repeatedly interrupted the candidates during speeches, disrupting the town hall with chants. Despite one protestor’s insistence that transgender women were not represented at the event, African American transgender women were slated to ask televised questions later in the program, and the TLC president attended the event as a special guest of the presidential campaign of Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). 15

TLC has also taken direct action to try to prevent center-right policy from taking effect. In June 2020, after the Trump administration Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) finalized a rule which could allow medical professionals to refuse service to patients based on gender identity, TLC filed a lawsuit against the administration to block the measure. The left-of-center Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund (better known as Lambda Legal) represented TLC and the other plaintiffs involved in the case. 16

Electoral Advocacy

In October 2020, TLC officials participated in a roundtable on the presidential election, claiming that the election of former Vice President Joe Biden (D) as president was “critical for our survival.”17 Following President Biden’s election, TLC leadership participated in a roundtable on transgender issues with Domestic Policy Advisor Susan Rice in July 2021. 18

TLC has also been a fierce opponent of transgender woman Caitlyn Jenner’s 2021 California gubernatorial campaign. Jenner is a Republican who has equivocated on whether transgender individuals born male should be barred from competing in women’s sports. TLC president Bamby Salcedo, while claiming to advocate for transgender women in politics, called Jenner a “political stunt” and claimed she was “not connected to the trans community.” 19

Immigration Campaign

In April 2019, TLC organized a nationwide advocacy campaign to free transgender illegal immigrant Alejandra Barrera from an immigrant detention center in New Mexico after she was denied asylum four times. TLC created a petition signed by more than 36,000 persons in support of her release. 20 21 In September 2019, Barerra was released from detention. 22

In March 2020, to address the COVID-19 pandemic, TLC published a letter calling on Gov. Newsom to implement long-term housing, employment, and health care programs for transgender people, especially illegal immigrants. 23

Coalitions

In April 2021, the TransLatin@ Coalition (TLC) recruited 25 other LGBT organizations to form the Transgender, Gender-Nonconforming, Intersex Policy Alliance. TLC formed the alliance to demand $15 million in funding for the newly-formed California Transgender Wellness and Equity Fund, which TLC pushed to establish. 24 25 In July 2021, the fund received $13 million from the state government. 26 The TGI Policy Alliance included other high-profile TGI organizations, including the left-of-center Transgender Law Center, InterACT, the Gender Health Center, and Gender Justice LA. 27

TLC is also a member of the controversial, left-wing “Check the Sheriff” coalition. The coalition has alleged that there is widespread “corruption” and police brutality in the Los Angeles Sherriff’s Department, called for the resignation of Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva (D), and demanded that the California Attorney General’s Office investigate the department. Other coalition members include Black Lives Matter Los Angeles, the National Immigration Law Center (NILC), and Bend the Arc. 28

Controversies

Human Rights Campaign

Though the TransLatin@ Coalition (TLC) has worked with other LGBT organizations in the past, it has also taken left-wing stances condemning the work of other prominent LGBT groups for not placing transgender in charge of the so-called “trans liberation” movement. 29

In October 2019, TLC signed onto a letter condemning the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), one of the largest and most prominent LGBT advocacy organizations in the country. HRC announced that it would adopt a new “trans centered” framework to support transgender people and left-of-center policy related to transgender issues. TLC and other signatories on the letter accused HRC of engaging in a “cooptation of our movement.” 30

TLC became of fierce critic of the announcement, claiming that HRC could never be on the “frontline” of the movement and alleging that HRC had “opposed and undermined” prior transgender rights campaigns. The letter also claimed that HRC had a “legacy of transphobia, racism, and its compounding effects” and demanded “more funding” and “more power” for organizations led by transgender people, claiming that transgender people did not “need a cisgender-led $40 million organization to copy our work and brand it as new.” Despite condemning HRC, TLC and the other signatories on the letter called for HRC to support small transgender-led organizations. 31

WiSpa

In July 2021, a woman at the WiSpa Korean spa in Los Angeles alleged that a transgender woman exposed her male genitals to the accuser’s children while on the women’s side of the spa. The accuser then alleged that the woman got into a hot tub with the children while naked. After her complaints were published online, mass protests broke out across the city, with some protesting in support of the transgender woman’s use of women’s facilities and others protesting the exposure of children to adult male genitals. 32

TransLatin@ Coalition (TLC) president Bamby Salcedo published an article denying that the event ever occurred, despite never having been to the spa and having no knowledge of the parties involved. Salcedo made a baseless claim that “the whole situation was wholly manufactured and manipulated, particularly by people who are trying to gain followers and those on the right who with their continued efforts are trying to create violence.” 33

Salcedo went on to directly allege that “right wing agitators created the situation to give them a platform to spread anti-trans propaganda,” claiming that if any such incident had occurred, TLC would have been informed about it in order to “support” the transgender woman accused. Salcedo claimed that because TLC did not know anyone who participated in the protests, the event which sparked them was falsified. 34

Despite Salcedo’s denial, WiSpa confirmed that it frequently served members of the transgender population, and a video circulated across the internet of a woman directly questioning WiSpa employees following the incident. 35

Leadership

Bamby Salcedo is the president and CEO of the TransLatin@ Coalition (TLC). Salcedo was the health education and HIV prevention services coordinator for 8 years at the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, and has spoken at conferences at the White House, the United Nations, and other international organizations on transgender issues. Salcedo is also the subject of the documentary “TransVisible: Bamby Salcedo’s Story.” 36

Salcedo has an extensive criminal history. Salcedo was first incarcerated at age 19 and spent the next 14 years in and out of prison after repeated arrests on drug and petty theft charges. Salcedo has previously claimed that the lack of social services for transgender people meant that “the street economy was the only way for [transgender people] to live and survive.” 37

Funding

Until 2017, the TransLatin@ Coalition (TLC) reported less than $50,000 in gross receipts. In 2018 and 2019, the organization grew substantially, reporting $990,456 in revenue and $459,227 in net assets at the end of 2018 and $1,052,988 in revenue and $659,176 in net assets at the end of the following year. 38

The organization has received funding from several left-of-center organizations, including $100,000 from Gilead, $100,000 from the Groundswell Fund, and an undisclosed grant from the Caitlyn Jenner Foundation. 39 40 41

References

  1. Quinlan, Casey. “California Passes Bill Giving Transgender Inmates a Say in Where They’re Housed.” The American Independent. September 2, 2020. https://americanindependent.com/california-transgender-inmates-safety-rights-gavin-newsom/.
  2. “Coalition Calls for United Nations Inquiry into US Police Violence.” Human Rights Watch. May 12, 2021. https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/05/10/coalition-calls-united-nations-inquiry-us-police-violence#.
  3. “About TLC.” TransLatin@ Coalition. Accessed August 29, 2021. https://www.translatinacoalition.org/about-tlc.
  4. “About TLC.” TransLatin@ Coalition. Accessed August 29, 2021. https://www.translatinacoalition.org/about-tlc.
  5. “Services in Los Angeles.” TransLatin@ Coalition. Accessed August 29, 2021. https://www.translatinacoalition.org/services-in-los-angeles.
  6. “Services in Los Angeles.” TransLatin@ Coalition. Accessed August 29, 2021. https://www.translatinacoalition.org/services-in-los-angeles.
  7. Quinlan, Casey. “California Passes Bill Giving Transgender Inmates a Say in Where They’re Housed.” The American Independent. September 2, 2020. https://americanindependent.com/california-transgender-inmates-safety-rights-gavin-newsom/.
  8. Grimes, Katy. “Legislation to House Inmates According to Gender Identity Instead of Biological Sex.” California Globe. June 28, 2019. https://californiaglobe.com/section-2/legislation-to-house-inmates-according-to-gender-identity-instead-of-than-biological-sex/.
  9. Laird, Cynthia. “Newsom Signs LGBTQ Data Collection, Trans Prisoners Bills.” The Bay Area Reporter, September 27, 2020. https://www.ebar.com/news/news//297608.
  10. “Annual Services Report 2020.” TransLatin@Coalition. Accessed August 29, 2021. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55b6e526e4b02f9283ae1969/t/603e98658d6d6638d539a0ec/1614714989888/TLC-2020_Annual_Report.pdf.
  11. “ATI Measure J 2021 Spending.” Los Angeles County. August 11, 2021. https://ceo.lacounty.gov/measure-j-2021-spending/.
  12. “Coalition Calls for United Nations Inquiry into US Police Violence.” Human Rights Watch. May 12, 2021. https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/05/10/coalition-calls-united-nations-inquiry-us-police-violence#.
  13. Matthew, Zoie. “Trans Angelenos Speak out against Trump’s Latest Assault on Their Rights.” Los Angeles Magazine. October 24, 2018. https://www.lamag.com/citythinkblog/transgender-rights-donald-trump/.
  14. Birnbaum, Emily. “Transgender Rights Group Unfurls Massive Flag in Front of Lincoln Memorial.” The Hill. October 29, 2018. https://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/413706-transgender-rights-group-unfurls-massive-flag-in-front-of-lincoln?rl=1.
  15. Neus, Nora. “Trans Women Are Still Incarcerated with Men and It’s Putting Their Lives at Risk.” CNN. June 23, 2021. https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/23/us/trans-women-incarceration/index.html.
  16. Simmons-Duffin, Selena. “LGBTQ Clinics SUE Trump Administration over Discrimination in TRANS Health Care.” KPCW. June 22, 2020. https://www.kpcw.org/post/lgbtq-clinics-sue-trump-administration-over-discrimination-trans-health-care#stream/0.
  17. Lavers, Michael K. “Election a Matter of ‘Survival’ for LGBTQ Latinos.” Los Angeles Blade. August 27, 2021. https://www.losangelesblade.com/2020/10/15/election-a-matter-of-survival-for-lgbtq-latinos/.
  18. “Readout of White House Roundtable with Transgender Women of Color Advocates.” The White House. July 26, 2021. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/07/23/readout-of-white-house-roundtable-with-transgender-women-of-color-advocates/.
  19. Marinucci, Carla, and Jeremy B. White. “Jenner Hits California Nerve by Siding with GOP on Transgender Athletes.” Politico. May 4, 2021. https://www.politico.com/states/florida/story/2021/05/03/jenner-hits-california-nerve-by-siding-with-gop-on-transgender-athletes-1379772.
  20. “#FreeAlejandra.” Change.org. Accessed August 29, 2021. https://www.change.org/p/immigration-and-customs-enforcement-ice-freealejandra?recruiter=946735514&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=share_petition&utm_term=530d7be676f549a0bb4caf62be9d16ea.
  21. Ring, Trudy. “Activists Ban Together to Free Trans Woman Detained by Ice.” Advocate.com. April 11, 2019. https://www.advocate.com/transgender/2019/4/11/activists-ban-together-free-trans-woman-detained-ice.
  22. “Victory! Alejandra Is Free From Detention!” Change.org. Accessed August 29, 2021. https://www.change.org/p/immigration-and-customs-enforcement-ice-freealejandra/u/25245179.
  23. Sprayregen, Molly. “California Trans-Led Organizations Call for Increased State Support to Help Their Communities through the Pandemic.” Forbes. April 6, 2020. https://www.forbes.com/sites/mollysprayregen/2020/04/04/trans-led-organizations-in-california-call-for-increased-state-support-to-help-their-communities-through-the–pandemic/?sh=5defaac719b1
  24. Ferrannini, John. “New TGI-Led Alliance Seeks $15 Million for State Trans Health Fund.” The Bay Area Reporter. April 21, 2021. https://www.ebar.com/news/latest_news//304196.
  25. Ferrannini, John. “LGBTQ Agenda: Hearing on Trans Wellness Bill Moved to Thursday.” The Bay Area Reporter. August 17, 2020. https://www.ebar.com/news/news//296186.
  26. Ferrannini, John. “Trans Wellness Fund Gets $13 Million Deposit from State Budget.” The Bay Area Reporter. July 14, 2021. https://www.ebar.com/news/latest_news//306939.
  27. Ferrannini, John. “New TGI-Led Alliance Seeks $15 Million for State Trans Health Fund.” The Bay Area Reporter. April 21, 2021. https://www.ebar.com/news/latest_news//304196.
  28. “About.” Check the Sheriff Coalition. Accessed August 29, 2021. https://www.checkthesheriff.com/about.
  29. “An Open Letter to HRC from Trans Community Leaders.” OUT. October 5, 2019. https://www.out.com/activism/2019/10/01/open-letter-hrc-trans-community-leaders.
  30. “An Open Letter to HRC from Trans Community Leaders.” OUT. October 5, 2019. https://www.out.com/activism/2019/10/01/open-letter-hrc-trans-community-leaders.
  31. “An Open Letter to HRC from Trans Community Leaders.” OUT. October 5, 2019. https://www.out.com/activism/2019/10/01/open-letter-hrc-trans-community-leaders.
  32. Salcedo, Bamby. “Proud Boys & Qanon Expose Dangerous Hatred of Trans People AT Wi Spa.” Los Angeles Blade. August 27, 2021. https://www.losangelesblade.com/2021/07/21/proud-boys-qanon-expose-dangerous-hatred-of-trans-people-at-wi-spa/.
  33. Salcedo, Bamby. “Proud Boys & Qanon Expose Dangerous Hatred of Trans People AT Wi Spa.” Los Angeles Blade. August 27, 2021. https://www.losangelesblade.com/2021/07/21/proud-boys-qanon-expose-dangerous-hatred-of-trans-people-at-wi-spa/.
  34. Salcedo, Bamby. “Proud Boys & Qanon Expose Dangerous Hatred of Trans People AT Wi Spa.” Los Angeles Blade. August 27, 2021. https://www.losangelesblade.com/2021/07/21/proud-boys-qanon-expose-dangerous-hatred-of-trans-people-at-wi-spa/.
  35. Stuart, Gwynedd. “Five Women Have Filed Police Reports Alleging Indecent Exposure AT Wi Spa.” Los Angeles Magazine. August 2, 2021. https://www.lamag.com/citythinkblog/wi-spa-police-reports/.
  36. “Bamby Salcedo.” TransLatin@ Coalition. Accessed August 29, 2021. https://www.translatinacoalition.org/bamby-salcedo.
  37. Neus, Nora. “Trans Women Are Still Incarcerated with Men and It’s Putting Their Lives at Risk.” CNN. June 23, 2021. https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/23/us/trans-women-incarceration/index.html.
  38. “TransLatin Colaition.” Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax, Form 990, 2019. Part I.
  39. “TRANScend™ Community Impact Fund.” Gilead. Accessed August 29, 2021. https://www.gilead.com/purpose/partnerships-and-community/-/media/9668bf43eacf41f4a2c93f3161870dce.ashx
  40. “The Translatin Coalition.” CauseIQ. Accessed August 29, 2021. https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/the-translatin-coalition,273801872/#funding.
  41. “Grantees.” Caitlyn Jenner Foundation. Accessed August 29, 2021. https://caitlynjennerfoundation.org/grantees/.
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Nonprofit Information

  • Accounting Period: December - November
  • Tax Exemption Received: June 1, 2013

    • Available Filings

    Period Form Type Total revenue Total functional expenses Total assets (EOY) Total liabilities (EOY) Unrelated business income? Total contributions Program service revenue Investment income Comp. of current officers, directors, etc. Form 990
    2019 Dec Form 990 $1,052,988 $853,039 $659,176 $0 N $1,052,988 $0 $0 $64,786 PDF
    2018 Dec Form 990 $990,456 $540,583 $459,227 $0 N $990,456 $0 $0 $0 PDF

    TransLatin@ Coalition

    3055 WILSHIRE BLVD STE 350
    LOS ANGELES, CA 90010-1108