Meet the Moderator x The Origin of Julep Town

About

What’s ha’nin’, folk?

My name is Trey Washington. My pronouns are he/him/his.

I occupy the intersection of fried fish / porch sitting / Fantasia’s runs / leftism and doing the chicken-head to every song like it’s still 2001. I am poor, Black and Southern as the day is long.

In January of 2018, after spending much of the previous year overwhelmed with anxiety, I challenged myself to read one book a month written by cis- and trans-gender Black women because I wanted to do something, anything, constructive. 

Initially, my reading list consisted of books written by cisgender Black women writers that I encountered on Twitter. Their colorful political imaginations made me feel hopeful. The experiences and analysis that they shared taught me about the power that I hold because of my identities: cisgender, thin, heterosexual, masculine-presenting, formally educated, able-bodied, etc. 

I have since expanded the scope of my reading list to include Black writers of all marginalized genders including cis women, trans women and men, non-binary folks, folks questioning their gender and those who are otherwise underrepresented. (Read why here.)

I shared my reading list with friends and family because I wanted them to feel hopeful, too. I wanted to care for others in the process of caring for myself, to be part of a community because as Mariame Kaba says, “You are one person. Gather a couple others if you can. We can only change things collectively [and] the only way to sustain the self is to collectivize care.”

What is Julep Town?

“Julep Town” is the nickname of a tiny little cove located in the small, rural town of Badin, North Carolina. It’s a stone’s throw from Badin Lake. My family jokes that we own “lake front property.”

Situated in the middle of this cove, ‘cross the way from St Marks, between the chicken coop, the honeysuckle patch and the graveyard of broken-down cars and boats, is my late Great Gramma Bone’s bungalow. The porch still looks the same to this day: open and inviting.

I started this collective in honor of my Gramma Bone and the folk who came after her who taught me everything there is to know about Black, Southern community. My hope is that y’all feel affirmed here, respected, challenged, and supported. Welcome to the Julep Town Collective (or JTC for short). Stay a little while, or just pass on through. Whatever you decide, I hope you leave feelin’ a bit more full than when you came.