Jennifer Majors Baca

Advocacy: LGBTQIA

By Teresa Kenney

In 1991, 10 young men—nine teenagers and one adult—left a party in The Woodlands. They drove, admittedly intoxicated, approximately 30 miles south into Houston’s Montrose neighborhood. After being refused entrance into one of the neighborhood’s gay nightclubs, they came upon Paul Broussard and two of his friends and attacked the three men. Broussard was beaten and stabbed twice. He died several hours later—not only from his wounds but also from the delay in treatment by emergency responders. Advocates blamed the delay in medical treatment on homophobia and a misconception of HIV/AIDS. After an initial reluctance by local law enforcement to investigate and prosecute the crime, community outrage resulted in the capture and conviction of the individuals dubbed “The Woodlands 10.”  

Jennifer Majors Baca (then known as Jennifer Majors) grew up in The Woodlands and knew two of the young men. “The fact that they were capable of such hate shocked me. The attack affected me greatly, and to this day, when meeting people involved in advocacy, I often see a look of horror when I mention I’m from The Woodlands. The cloud of ‘The Woodlands 10’ continues to hang over our community,” she says. 

Fast forward to 2016 and her devastation over the outcome of the presidential election. One of her best friends, Adria Alexander Keeney, suggested they plan a dinner to meet with like-minded people. The list quickly grew from 17 to 35 friends and acquaintances. Then, when a social media post was inadvertently made public, the number more than doubled to 80. 

“When we had our first meeting, Adria and I had no idea what we would do, but we knew we needed to support each other. We needed to know that others cared as much as we did. Every person in the room got up and spoke about why they were there, and it was very emotional. Young, old, white, brown, black, Hispanic, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Jewish, Gay, Straight, were all present in the room and all filled with sadness and fear. Our youngest member stood up and talked about how worried she was to come out at school. As a lesbian, she said she didn’t feel like anybody would stand up for her. Everyone was starting to tear up. We told her that we would stand up for her. It was very emotional,” Majors Baca recalls.

As a result of that initial meeting, Jennifer began to create a leadership team for what would soon be known as Woodlands Coalition for Equality or, simply, WE. “There were so many issues we wanted to address: health care, immigration, equality, racism, human rights, elections, legislation, and more. I had to make a choice. If I was the only one left standing, what would I be willing to fight for alone? The decision was easy,” she says. She chose LGBTQIA advocacy. The issue hits particularly close to home for her. Her brother is gay and so was her half-brother—who passed away in 2015. His death, she believes, stemmed from issues she attributes to his struggle with his identity.

Leading a group like WE is Majors Baca (her last name rhymes with “gotcha”) in her element. She’s a connector—empathetic and compassionate with an infectious exuberance for life that’s like being surrounded by confetti when you’re around her. Intensely committed to serving her community, in 2018, she was awarded “Volunteer of the Year” and “Diplomat of the Year” by The Woodlands Area Chamber of Commerce. She has served on the leadership committee for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Man and Woman of the Year campaign, and as auction chair for the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women Luncheon. Currently she volunteers for The Pangea Network. 

She is also CEO of JMB Insurance Solutions, and despite her active involvement in The Woodlands’ business and social communities, her business has taken a huge hit because of her political views. “I don’t try to change which party others belong to, but I do fight for a commonsense approach to important issues and focus on kindness versus hostility,” she says. 

In 2018, disturbed by what she saw as an undercurrent of intolerance, she sponsored and hosted The Woodlands’ first “Celebration of Diversity,” which brought together the many different cultures within the community through an international potluck. That same year, she sponsored The Woodlands first Pride Festival, working with the festival’s founder Jason Rocha. “The festival was a physical manifestation of what we wanted to achieve with WE. It proved to us that we can celebrate equality for the LGBTQIA community in The Woodlands. There were no protests, no fights. The day was perfect. It gave hope to so many of us,” she says.

Currently WE hosts an informational public Facebook page, but the organization continues to evolve. “Additionally, we offer support and sponsor events to show that there are those in The Woodlands that support equality,” she says.  Once a month, she leads a LGBTQIA support group at a local church. 

“We’ve had lots of trans kids show up for that meeting and that means the world to me. That’s what matters to me—that these kids are feeling accepted,” says Majors Baca. “I tell people all the time: The best gift that you can give your child is the gift to feel safe in their own skin and to be accepted for exactly who they are. Not feeling accepted, I think, is the cause of every problem that we have in the world. How boring would the world be if we were all alike?” •