Nora grew up in Nelson County and is self-taught. They enjoy studying the intersections of relational dialectics, historical materialism, and gender.
“A big part of my politics surrounding advocacy is rooted in the fact that I am an ordinary person. I’m the imaginary statistic in the room. I’m poor. I’m black. I’m queer. When I come into these spaces where policy and theoretical paths forward are being combed over, most of the time I’m one of the only ones in the room whose future rights and safety are on the table.”
Nora is also passionate about disability rights, not only because they are disabled and have had to navigate the world picking up their own coping tools along the way, but also because they grew up being part of the queer and disabled community. They’ve seen what it looks like when people don’t receive the recognition and access they need.
“You can tell the kind of person someone would be if they had been given the right tools and the right knowledge. That’s why it’s important to me to make sure the next generation is given some kind of support, some kind of nurture.” they said.
Nora lived in Waynesboro from 2018 – 2021, when they joined Virginia Organizing as a chapter member who was directly affected by the lack of decent, affordable housing in the city. “Having Virginia Organizing to go to, people to talk with about my experience, helped me get through that period.”
As an organizer, Nora hopes to provide that space for members, space where people can ask out loud the big questions they’re already asking themselves internally so that they can come to understand the root causes behind issues affecting them and take action.
