From Drag to the Capitol: Angelique Godwin’s Journey to Trans Activism

By Dakota Parks for Inweekly

When it comes to fighting for change, Angelique Godwin doesn’t take “no” for an answer. She just works harder. Whether she’s studying for her doctorate, performing a drag routine at Cabaret, delivering a keynote speech, marching in the streets or lobbying at the Florida State Capitol for queer and transgender rights, you’ll most likely find her boots—or high heels—on the ground, working to uplift trans-led organizations and the communities they serve. As a proud Afro-Latina trans woman and the director of transgender equality for Equality Florida, Godwin has been a longtime advocate for her community.

But it wasn’t until Florida Republicans pushed HB 1423/SB 1438—the 2023 drag ban bill signed into law by Governor DeSantis and later blocked by judges for vague language and threatening protected speech—that Godwin first cut her teeth in political organizing. At the time, she was already volunteering with Equality Florida, the state’s largest civil rights organization advocating for Florida’s LGBTQ+ community through lobbying, education and grassroots organizing.

“That drag ban bill made me put my boots to the ground so fast I could barely keep up with myself, because I knew just how important it was to be a voice,” Godwin recalled. “I was a full-time drag queen living in Tampa, and I realized I had safety nets to fall back on, but then I thought of all my friends, performers and people I love suddenly losing their livelihoods, losing their access to healthcare, losing their future. That was when I realized I had to do something, I had to speak out, and I had to bring as many of them with me as I could.”

Equality Florida didn’t just offer support, they gave Godwin the tools, legal information and confidence to confront lawmakers directly and explain exactly how these bills were harming her community. Armed with that knowledge, Godwin mobilized. She not only went to Tallahassee l to share her story but also brought more drag performers with her each week, doubling their presence—then returned to Tampa to host weekly town halls to educate the community, raise funds and rally even more voices to join the fight.

But Godwin didn’t stop there. She also helped organize the 2023 Drag Queen March—a turning point that launched her into full-time organizing with Equality Florida and set her on the path to relocate to Pensacola. After seeing her perform and speak at the march, Paul Dye, the owner of Cabaret, offered Godwin a full-time spot in the cast, recognizing both her talent and the power of her voice. Some might wonder how she balances drag and activism—but for Godwin, the two go hand in hand.

“I’m a hustler at heart, always in survivor mode. As an Afro-Latina trans woman, I’ve had to work three times harder just to get a seat at the table,” Godwin explained. “Drag has been my outlet for 18 years—it helps me release the stress that comes with policy work, HIV prevention and helping trans people access resources to housing, healthcare and employment opportunities. Those are my 9-5 hours so to speak. Then on the weekends, I get to unwind and do what I love: dance, perform and have fun in a little bit of glitter and rhinestone.”

She didn’t stop with the drag ban—if anything, it lit an even bigger fire underneath her.

In a fiery speech to lawmakers during the 2024 legislative session, Godwin made her stance clear that she will continue to fight to protect the rights of LGBTQ+ Floridians and that she will not let the transgender community be legislated out of existence.

“I will not be feared out of the state. You will not make laws to remove me or my dream, because I was raised in an America that believes that freedom will ring, and freedom is mine to ring. You can take the books off the shelves, but you can’t take the memories out of my mind. You can erase me from your history books, but baby, I still exist. You attacked a group that has no ill will toward you, and now we have to stand up and fight. I told you last year, it wouldn’t be the last you see of me. Keep making these laws and these bills, and you’ll see me in your Senate seats next. And that is not a threat, that’s a promise.”

Voices for Change

Like any skilled organizer, Godwin knows the key to winning a fight is rallying and inspiring future generations, building strong coalitions and helping new activists find—and use—their voice.

Fresh off protesting the drag ban, Godwin’s first priority was making sure transgender organizations had the tools, resources and connections they needed to serve their communities. She organized the Florida Voices for Change Summit, a gathering that brought together more than 60 trans-led organizations, groups, leaders and businesses with a common goal of creating a better quality of life for all trans, nonbinary and intersex individuals across the state of Florida.

“We wanted to bring the community back to the forefront,” she explained. “Sometimes as organizations grow, it is hard to really focus on the people that we want to affect the most, which are community members. We are still shaping their lives in the bigger picture, but this convening allowed for all of these trans-led organizations and people who actually work in the community and deal with these issues hands on to come together, talk about their problems and create solutions. It also uplifted the entire trans community as a whole across the state, because now everyone is working together and collaborating.”

At a time when attacks on the transgender community are at an all-time high—from President Donald Trump’s executive orders attempting to legally define and recognize only two sexes and discharge all transgender military members to restrictions on legal name changes and relentless legislation to restrict gender-affirming healthcare—trans organizations across the state are now working together, sharing vital resources and building a united front.

While the Summit gears up for its second year, Godwin spends much of her time meeting with organizations across the state, mentoring fellows in the Transgender Equality Fellowship Program and traveling to vet services and healthcare providers to keep her resource lists updated and ensure they’re genuinely inclusive and effective for the trans and broader LGBTQ+ community. Above all, she serves as a sounding board—responding to emails from trans Floridians seeking support for everything from housing and name changes to gender-affirming care.

“Most people are confused or scared, but we can’t let fear consume us right now,” she said. “The biggest inquiries currently are asking for assistance with name changes, finding shelters that accept trans individuals and asking for help understanding how the executive orders and bills affect us immediately. I like to help people find happy loopholes in the language. Things are getting a little bit tighter now with some things getting hammered down, but there’s a lot of good people out there fighting these executive orders and legislation, taking them to court to get them held up or shot down because they’re unconstitutional.”

Equality Florida’s Public Policy team works year-round to stop or neutralize harmful legislation before it gains traction. Their strategy during the 60-day legislative session is to maintain a visible, vocal presence at every single hearing. Staff rotate throughout the session to maintain a constant presence in the Capitol, helping constituents sign up for public comment, coaching them on talking points and filling every room with personal stories backed by hard facts.

“A big part of what we do is show up,” Godwin said. “We show up and speak at every single hearing. There’s not a time when we’re not there. We work to bring people across the state to fill the rooms and sign up for public comment to help run the clock down. We help people share their stories and use our facts to boost them. Then we send out a “Resistance Report” every week to keep everyone filled in.”

Fighting Back in the 2025 Legislative Session

Each year, Equality Florida kicks off the legislative session with Pride at the Capitol, bringing together hundreds of LGBTQ+ Floridians and allies to Tallahassee to meet with lawmakers, march in the streets and speak out against harmful legislation.

During that week, Godwin also leads the Let Us Live March, a trans-led rally amplifying the voices of transgender Floridians. Launched in response to Florida’s trans youth healthcare ban, the march has quickly become a powerful show of resistance. This year, despite freezing rain and wind battering attendees, nearly 400 people showed up—doubling last year’s turnout and proving that not even the harshest conditions can silence a community fighting for its right to exist.

“Protests and marches don’t always result in direct change, but they connect and empower the people who attend them,” Godwin said. “The community outpour and response has been amazing. While we were on the steps of the Capitol protesting last year, Senator Kathleen Passidomo killed a bill barring trans people from changing their gender markers on their government documents. She stopped it on the floor and wouldn’t let it move forward at all. So that was a really huge win for us.”

This session, Gov. DeSantis and the GOP supermajority pushed a sweeping agenda aimed at rolling back civil liberties, targeting LGBTQ+ visibility, reproductive rights, academic freedom and even democratic participation in elections.

Lawmakers introduced bills to ban Pride flags on government buildings, dismantle DEI programs in state agencies and state contractors, allow concealed carry on college campuses, restrict minors’ access to birth control and expand book bans and classroom censorship in K-12 schools. They also backed HB 1205/SB 7016, a bill that would make it nearly impossible for citizen-led amendments to reach the ballot—adding extreme new barriers to a process that is already the strictest in the nation.

“While we have been tracking the session with cautious hopefulness, we know that we must stay vigilant in the face of the bills that have passed,” Godwin said in an interview right before the end of the session. “At this time, the focus is how to be proactive while we keep the community informed and determine what the best practices are moving forward.”

At the close of the 60 day session on May 2, Equality Florida announced that they had managed to successfully stall, neutralize or stop every anti- LGBTQ+ bill that was filed. This includes the “Don’t Say Gay or Trans at Work” bill (HB 1495/SB 440), which sought to regulate pronoun use in workplaces and prohibit job applicants from identifying as transgender on non-binary on job applications; the “Pride Flag Ban” (HB 75/SB 100), which would have prohibited government buildings from flying Pride flags; and the “Anti-Diversity in Government Contracting” bill (HB 1185/SB 1694), which aimed to ban local governments from enacting DEI-related policies, ordinances or resolutions recognizing communities’ histories such as Pride Month or Black History Month and even remove local officials from office for supporting inclusive measures.

“For me personally, I have hope that we will survive. As we have done before, especially the past few years, we will take every opportunity to push back,” Godwin explained. “I will not give up. I will continue to teach people how to take up space, use their voices and utilize their constitutional rights effectively. I hope that readers who are inspired will also continue to take action, be seen, be heard and make a difference.”

While Godwin continues putting down roots in Pensacola, she hopes to connect with more local organizations and activists. When asked what keeps her going—what inspires her to carry on this work—her answer is simple: victory.

“We have killed so many bills and had so many victories already,” Godwin said. “Florida has been the pre-game to Project 2025 since 2022, so we’ve been fighting these direct attacks against the trans community and the entire LGBTQ+ community for years now. As these executive orders keep coming out, we are fully aware it’s going to cause an uproar, mass confusion and misinformation. That’s the point. But in 2024 alone, we killed 21 out of 22 anti-LGBTQ bills. And when we say, we mean they were completely neutralized to the point where they’re not doing that much harm, or they were taken off the books completely. So it’s worth the fight. We are never going to stop fighting.”

Angelique Godwin

@dncndiva

Equality Florida

eqfl.org, @equalityfl

For a deeper dive into the 2025 legislative session, Joe Saunders, the senior political director for Equality Florida, will join Emerald Coast Equality at Restaurant Nola on Wednesday, May 21, for a session recap. Visit emeraldcoastequality.org for more information.