Mark Herz: This is GBH’s Morning Edition. This week, Worcester City Councilor Thu Nguyen announced that they are taking a one-month hiatus from their position, alleging transphobia and a toxic culture on the council. Nguyen spoke to GBH earlier this month to reflect on their life and career -- and how their identity helps them bring a unique perspective to politics.
Thu Nguyen: So I’m Thu Nguyen. I’m the first non-binary person elected in Massachusetts, and I serve as a Worcester City councilor.
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I grew up in Worcester — I came here actually when I was 18 months old, and so I was pretty young. My family were Vietnamese refugees. I think I’ve always been nonbinary, but there hasn’t always been the words for it. So, you know, I always tell this story where when I was when I was roughly six, I used to pray to God because my family grew up Catholic for me to become a boy. And because of my understanding of gender was very binary, You know, I was like, Well, if I don’t feel like a girl than I must want to be a boy, right?
I also didn’t quite felt like I wanted to transition necessarily, you know, and transness isn’t just about our bodies, but, you know, there’s ways in which I was trying to understand transness.
One of the first things I did when I was in college was I created this organization or we taught young people how to make social documentaries. And that was the first time I learned about young folks or undocumented young folks who are unsheltered. And so I was doing that kind of work with young folks, and it kind of really trickled outwards because when we have young folks talking about being undocumented and having a social documentary on it, I think action is called for. When I learned about oppression, it could be so sad and depressing. You know, you’re like, okay, so now I’m just oppressed. What am I going to do about it?
NAT SOUND OF Thu Nguyen: I’ll show you my laptop. Actually, my laptop, where I always work, has the things that remind me of just my political being and the ways in which I organize. And so one of my favorite quotes is "I am my ancestors wildest dreams." Just because a lot of our ancestors didn’t get to live the life that we have with our liberation and freedom. And it reminds me to keep keep going.
Thu Nguyen: If anything, I think my role is to disrupt and dismantle and demystify this notion of being a counselor and what it looks like.
NAT SOUND OF Thu Nguyen (in City Council meeting): Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I guess I would start by saying I’m really disappointed in the legal opinion that we received last week. Just wanted to get a few more legal opinions on this one....
Thu Nguyen: I was fighting really hard for regulations of the crisis pregnancy centers in Worcester. I think the moments in which I’m very proud of Worcester is when the community comes out for hours, they come out for hours testifying and sharing. And once again, even if the counselors don’t look at them and will vote no. I think it’s beautiful to see them mobilize.
Thu Nguyen: Well, I think there is certainly a shift going into — back into a Trump Administration. I’m on testosterone, and so gender affirming care is something that he’s trying to really attack. And I think what I see more especially with the growing of social media, is people really supporting each other. I see so many, you know, lawyers going out there to be like, 'all right, let us help you figure out how to adopt your kids immediately.’ I know photographers who are like saying, 'hey, if you want to get married to your partner now, this is a time before whatever could happen.’ And so I love this mutual aid notion where people are stepping up to really support each other in ways that our governments want.
Thu Nguyen: I never thought of myself as a politician, and I still don’t. And so thinking about running for council for me was really about thinking about bringing resources back to the communities who need it most. For Worcester, that was just a historical moment. And I always say, you know, you could be historically the first, but what you do with it is the important thing.
Mark Herz: This story was produced by Rachel Armany. It was edited by Karen Marshall. You’re listening to GBH.
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Worcester City Councilor Thu Nguyen announced on Wednesday that they are taking a one-month hiatus from their position.
Nguyen, who is the first non-binary elected official in Massachusetts, cited issues of transphobia and toxicity on the council over the 3 years they have been in office.
They spoke to GBH News earlier this month to reflect on their life and career — and how their identity helps them bring a unique perspective to politics.
“I think I’ve always been nonbinary, but there hasn’t always been the words for it,” they said. “I believe there’s beautiful spectrums and that there are so many things beyond what we know. And I continue to grow into my gender and sexuality every day. And I think that’s a very beautiful thing.”
They added that the “creativity” in the queer community has been “one of [their] guiding lights.”
Nguyen, who is 33, has lived mostly in Worcester since they were 18 months old, when their family came to the U.S. as refugees.
“I grew up in [the neighborhood] Main South, so I had friends from all kinds of countries — also refugees,” they said. “I think one of the harder parts of growing up in Worcester was leaving and understanding that in different places ... there’s a kind of a monolith of what people expect others to be.”
Before becoming a city councilor, Nguyen attended Middlebury College and Clark University, and lived in both Boston and New Orleans, where they said they learned key lessons about community organizing and mutual aid.
“One of the first things I did when I was in college was I co-created this organization where we taught young people how to make social documentaries,” they said. “And [the work] kind of really trickled outwards because when we have young folks talking about being undocumented and having a social documentary on it, I think action is called for.”
Nguyen announced their candidacy for an at-large seat on Worcester’s city council in 2021, placing fourth in a field of 10 candidates. They took office in 2022, becoming not only the first non-binary elected official in Massachusetts, but also Worcester’s first Southeast Asian council member.
“If anything, I think my role is to disrupt and dismantle and demystify this notion of being a counselor and what it looks like,” they said. “For Worcester, that was just an historical moment. And I always say, you know, you could be historically the first, but what you do with it is the important thing.”
Over the last three years, they said one of their proudest moments was seeing the community testify on the regulation of crisis pregnancy centers in Worcester.
“Even if the counselors don’t look at [the constituents] and will vote no, I think it’s beautiful to see [people] mobilize,” they said.
They added that going into a second Trump Administration, they are hoping to continue to see people supporting each other with shared resources.
“I see so many lawyers going out there to be like, all right, let us help you figure out how to adopt your kids immediately. I know photographers who are like saying, 'hey, if you want to get married to your partner now, this is a time before whatever could happen,'” they said. “And so I love this mutual aid notion where people are stepping up to really support each other in ways that our governments wont.”
