Nahshon Dion

Nahshon Dion Anderson (born April 1, 1978; previously Nahshon Ratcliff) is an American writer, filmmaker, director, producer, artist, and arts advocate. Her work delves into themes of identity, discrimination, and violence, particularly focusing on marginalized communities. She is recognized for her contributions to creative nonfiction and community activism.

Early life

Dion was born on April 1, 1978, in Altadena, California. She is an African American Louisiana Creole. Her father died at a young age. She was raised by her mother with her siblings. They were part of a Jehovah's Witness community that included her family friend and neighbor, Rodney King. In junior high school, Dion participated in the drama club and was cast in a television commercial for Chuck E. Cheese.

In 1996, she met Tupac Shakur at her senior prom who referred her to his business partner Tracy Robinson at Look Hear Sound & Vision Productions. She interned with them following graduation. While in school, she came out as a gay man. She graduated from John Muir High School. Dion attended California State University, Los Angeles for two semesters.

Career

In 1998, Dion worked as an assistant to actor Stanley Bennett Clay where she helped him publish ''SBC Magazine'' focused on gay Black men.

In 2013, Dion relocated to New York City to pursue writing a memoir and nonfiction. She moved to the Bronx in 2013. Dion writes about discrimination, identity, and violence.

In 2019, she began work on a historical and educational film and documentary titled ''Renewed Life''. It is based on her unpublished memoir of her upbringing in Los Angeles County, California and life in the Bronx.

In 2020, Dion was interviewed by writer Sheldon Pearce for Changes: An Oral History of Tupac Simon & Schuster. The book was a New Yorker writer's intimate, revealing account of Tupac Shakur's life and legacy, timed to the fiftieth anniversary of his birth and twenty-fifth anniversary of his death. Pearce, an editor and writer at The New Yorker, interviews dozens who knew Tupac throughout various phases of his life including those who have never before spoken on the record.

From 2018 through 2020, Dion interviewed LGBT writers and allies such as Jeffrey C. Stewart, Amy Heart, Gerrick Kennedy, Amber Dawn, Michael Arceneaux, Renee Bess, Darnell L. Moore, and DeRay McKesson. The articles were published online in the Lambda Literary review.

In September 2021, Dion created a tribute to Tupac, a significant figure in her journey. This was the twenty-fifth anniversary of his untimely death, and she wanted to honor his legacy. She discovered the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs Artist Corps Grant, which aimed to support artists impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Out of three thousand applicants, Dion was one of the recipients of $5,000. With this award, she hosted a virtual event featuring Tracy D. Robinson, a producer and director, as well as Tupac's former manager and mentor Leila Steinberg, and other artists and writers. Together, they paid tribute to Tupac through readings from his poetry book The Rose That Grew from Concrete and a discussion on his lasting impact on culture and society through his words, images, and music.

In 2022, Dion started hosting and producing a YouTube show, "TRANSBRATIONS". She interviewed entrepreneur Dion Peronneau, poet Elmaz Abinader, writers, Charlie Vazquez, Jenn Baker, Michele Zack, Jacqueline Woodson, Jeffrey C. Stewart, Linda Villarosa, Sarah Schulman, Charles Rice Gonzalez, Stanley Bennet Clay, Historian Alison Rose Jefferson, Transgender advocates Diamond Stylz, Ceyenne Doroshow and Gwendolyn Ann Smith, drag queens Harmonica Sunbeam, Kevin Aviance, Jazzmun, filmmaker Pablo Mirrales and California State Secretary Dr. Shirley Weber.

Personal life

In early July 1997, at the age of 19, Dion was working as a production assistant when she was shot by a homophobic individual. She was later diagnosed with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Dion started transitioning around 2008 and later came out as a transgender woman.

Legal Issues

On Jan 1, 2000 Nahshon Dion Anderson dressed in a white chiffon prom dress trimmed with roses, rushed a Tournament of Rose Parade float carrying Rose Queen Sophia Bush and her court. Dion was immediately arrested by the Pasadena Police Department on suspicion of trespassing and disturbing the peace. As he was led away, Dion protested: “I am a queen. I was meant to be on that float.”

On September 21, 2011, Nahshon Dion Anderson filed a complaint against Intown Suites O’Hare for an alleged violation of the Cook County Human Rights Ordinance related to race, sexual orientation, and gender identity discrimination. On April 3, 2012, the Cook County Commission on Human Rights dismissed Anderson's complaint with respect to the charges of race and sexual orientation discrimination, but found substantial evidence of a violation with respect to the gender identity charge. After denying Intown’s request for reconsideration with respect to this finding and after a failed attempt at conciliation, this matter was set for an administrative hearing. On May 18, 2014, however, Anderson, through counsel, submitted a fully executed request to withdraw the pending complaint stating that “the parties have settled the case”. The commission granted Anderson Request to withdraw and ordered that complaint 2011PA004 be dismissed pursuant to a voluntary withdraw and was signed by Ranjit Hakim Executive Director of the Chicago, Illinois, Cook County Commission on Human Rights.

Activism

In 2024, Nahshon Dion and TRANSBRATIONS Art Collective organized the 25th anniversary of Transgender Day of Remembrance in South Central Los Angeles at ST. John's Community Health, honoring Meraxes Medina and two dozen other victims of transphobia in 2024. The California State Senate acknowledged her for her impact on the community.

Eaton Fire

On January 8, the Eaton Fire in Altadena, CA, destroyed her childhood homes, along with the homes of four family members, numerous friends, and dozens of her former schoolmates. The devastation hit especially hard—in February 2005, she lost her older sister, Shennea, in a fire in Los Angeles. On January 19th, she recorded herself walking in Crotona Park in the Bronx. She discussed the aftermath of the fire and the impact on her community and published it on YouTube. She launched a GoFundMe campaign, which was ultimately unsuccessful. She traveled to California in late January to comfort family and friends, assist with relief efforts, document the aftermath, and interview residents. This two-week journey marked the beginning of production in California on her documentary film, ''My Beloved Altadena''.

Published Works

* Emerge: 2021 Lambda Literary Fellows Anthology. (Volume 7)Lambda Literary Foundation 
* Emerge: 2017 Lambda Literary Fellows Anthology. (Volume 3) Lambda Literary Foundation 
* Emerge: 2016 Lambda Literary Fellows Anthology. (Volume 2) Lambda Literary Foundation
* Bronx Memoir Project: Vol. 1 Bronx Council on the Arts (2014)

Articles

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* Dion, Nahshon. (October 4, 2023) .

References

External links

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Profile
at Poets & Writers
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Dion, Nahshon
Living people
1978 births
American women documentary filmmakers
Filmmakers from California
21st-century American women artists
Artists from California
21st-century African-American women writers
21st-century American women writers
21st-century African-American writers
21st-century African-American artists
21st-century African-American women artists
21st-century American LGBTQ people
People from Altadena, California
People with mood disorders
People with post-traumatic stress disorder
John Muir High School alumni
American transgender artists
American transgender women
American transgender writers
African-American LGBTQ people
Writers from the Bronx
Artists from the Bronx
LGBTQ people from New York (state)
LGBTQ people from California
Louisiana Creole people
Writers from Los Angeles County, California