Steven Detoxx Rose
Sexual Health and Wellness Manager, Caribbean Equality Project
Steven Detoxx Rose (they/them/theirs) is a native of Jamaica, currently residing in Brooklyn, NY. Detoxx is the Sexual Health and Wellness Program Manager of the Caribbean Equality Project. They organize HIV educational and prevention programming and use health-focused strategies to lead community outreach that promote wellness, including COVID-19 and Mpox vaccine education efforts. Since 2015, they have been an avid contributor to the volunteer support network of the Caribbean Equality Project. Detoxx is pursuing an Associate of Science in Community Health Education at the Borough of Manhattan Community College, CUNY.
Outside of community organizing and academia, Detoxx is one of few Jamaican Drag entertainers in New York City and goes by Detoxx Busti-ae (she/her). As an emerging entrepreneur, Detoxx merges their passion for art, fashion, and drag to found Detoxx Creations, producing one-of-a-kind carnival costumes, custom press on nails, and lashes for drag queens. Detoxx has been a drag entertainer for 10+ years, bringing their unique style of being an "NYC Drag Queen with a Jamaican twist" worldwide.
Busti-ae can often be seen marching with Caribbean Equality Project in the annual AIDS Walk NY, Queens Pride Parade, and the NYC Pride March, using her visibility and drag-centric activism to promote self-love and acceptance within the Caribbean LGBTQ+ community.
In 2017, Busti-ae won the Queens Pride Drag Race Queenie Award. She was recognized for marching with the Caribbean Equality Project's "Prideful Mosaic: LGBTQ People of the Caribbean" contingent in the 25th Anniversary of the Queens Pride Parade, showcasing a fabulous carnival costume made by EnJ Productions.
In 2019, Detoxx Busti-ae was featured in the Caribbean Equality Project's Queer Caribbeans of NYC exhibition, the first-ever multimedia historical retrospective showcasing the racial and cultural intersections of Caribbean LGBTQ rights activists in NYC. Her activism has been recognized with various Citations from honorable elected officials, including the NYC Public Advocate Jumaanee Williams and former NYC Council Member Daniel Dromm.
