Award of Excellence: (re)Becoming Mohagany
Mohagany Foster was released from New Hanover Correctional Center in Wilmington, N.C. on November 8, 2022 after a year-long sentence. As a trans woman, the county housed her in a men’s facility against her wishes. Finally released, Mohagany is now working toward reclaiming her female identity in the real world. She first found housing in northern Durham through the LGBTQ+ Center until they decided they couldn't support her anymore. Without the Center, she now lives in a hotel and has a part-time job with the Orange County Rape Crisis Center as a response caller. However, with an inconsistent paycheck, she works to scrape together her room fee every single day, always unsure if she'll have to resume life on the streets.
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Being in a men’s facility came with many issues, including stifling her gender identity and causing gender dysphoria for the 20 years she was behind bars. Now able to present as a woman again, she does everything she can to reclaim the femininity that was robbed from her. One of the first things she did after release was get her hair braided at a studio in her new neighborhood in Durham, N.C. Getting braids done is a day-long commitment, and this appointment took nearly eight hours. In love with her new braids, Foster gets her first look in the mirror. She jumped up and down in pure joy for the first time since being released. “I love it!” she said. “I love it I love it I love it!”
