Jahaira DeAlto Balenciaga was a social work student, community advocate, anti-domestic violence activist, house mother, and local ballroom drag scene icon in Boston, MA.
DeAlto spoke at the Ryan White Conference on HIV/AIDS, presented at Harvard University, and was a guest lecturer at Columbia University's School of Social Work. She made videos for the transgender community.
DeAlto was murdered in her Dorchester home on May 2, 2021.
Early life
DeAlto was adopted by her mother, Doris Camer, from Beirut, Lebanon. DeAlto grew up in Dorchester, MA. As a child, she struggled to express who she truly was, facing incessant bullying. DeAlto began transitioning at age 16.
Education
When asked in an interview why she hadn't gone to college sooner, DeAlto commented, “I thought that college was for people who were richer, and whiter, and cis, and all that I was not.”
Berkshire Community College
DeAlto enrolled in Berkshire Community College, earned a scholarship for students who have overcome obstacles in life, and graduated in 2019 with an associate degree and certificate in human services. DeAlto became a spokesperson for the Massachusetts program, Credit for Prior Learning, which allows community college students to complete a portfolio about their lived experiences for academic credit. At BCC, DeAlto helped develop a peer-mentorship program for students from first-generation and low-income backgrounds.
Simmons University
At the time of her death, she was enrolled in the Undergraduate Social Work program at Simmons University, with plans to graduate in 2023. Professor Diane Grossman, who had DeAlto as a student and advisee at Simmons, stated DeAlto was, “exceptionally bright and tremendously committed to social justice issues around trans rights, victims of abuse, and more. She had a charismatic personality and was a magnet for other Simmons students who admired her tremendous experience as a community leader. As a vocal supporter of her peers, Jahaira stood up for issues of equality, justice, and inclusion.” Professor Katie Nolan, DeAlto's teacher and social work advisor said of DeAlto, "Her understanding of the importance of human relationships as well as her lifelong commitment to social justice were evident in every interaction that she had in the classroom, with peers and faculty, and in her work in the community." In a town hall meeting held to commemorate and mourn DeAlto, Professor Lydia Ogden shared that whenever DeAlto spoke in class, Ogden was sure DeAlto would receive a Doctorate of Social Work one day and become a professor. In 2022, $26,729 was raised to support the Jahaira M.DeAlto Endowed Scholarship at Simmons.
Ballroom career and chosen family
DeAlto began her ballroom career in Boston in 1996 and nurtured relationships with other transgender women of color to create a chosen family. She belonged to the House of Balenciaga. In ballroom, the category she was most known for was realness.
Harold Balenciaga, Founder of the House of Balenciaga, released a public statement on the night of DeAlto's death saying, "The House of Balenciaga regretfully acknowledges the death/murder of our own Jahaira M. DeAlto, a community advocate and friend to many. Let us not forget her ongoing work against domestic abuse and continue to uplift her name and ensure her memory lives on in this ironic twist of fate."
Children
DeAlto served as a chosen mother to so many people in the LGBTQ community abandoned by their birth families, the exact number of how many children she raised is unknown. DeAlto's friend in the ballroom community, Feroza Syed, commented, "Countless people considered her a mother figure, and I’ve seen dozens if not hundreds of posts talking about the impact of their relationship with her… Through her work she saved hundreds of lives and inspired many others to do the work."
Athena Vaughn was one of DeAlto's children, and lived with DeAlto for more than a decade after her family rejected her when she came out as trans. Vaughn described DeAlto as, "The essence of giving hope, the essence of guiding, the essence of uplifting, and just having someone to show you the unconditional love that your biological family was no longer giving because they were not supporting your lifestyle.” Vaughn is a co-founder and leader of Trans Resistance MA.
Commenting on motherhood, DeAlto shared on Mother's Day in 2020,
Friendship with Rita Hester
DeAlto spent most of her life honoring the remembrance of close friend and member of her chosen family, Black trans woman, Rita Hester, who was brutally murdered in Allston in 1998.