Push to protect Black trans lives as murders rise
During Pride Month 2020, there have been new calls to protect Black trans lives as deaths of transgender people rise across the country.
Transgender males can face a high suicide rate, especially as teens, and the average life expectancy for trans women is only 35 years old.
In light of recent killings, the Black trans community is pleading for help.
Recent murders and brutal violence against transgender people are catching headlines, but they are also spurring a Black Trans Lives Matter movement.
Many are celebrating the Supreme Court ruling barring discrimination against gay and transgender workers, but community leaders say there is still a long way to go to protect those in the trans community
“Being a minority within a minority, being a part of the Black trans community - there's space at the table to talk about all of the injustices and inequalities,” says Jayla Sylvester of Save Our Sisters United. She came out as a transgender at 30 years old.
She says as a Black person, she's faced discrimination from police, and as a trans woman, she was sexually harassed on three separate occasions within her first six months of coming out.
“Those were times I was forced to use restrooms in places that didn't allow me to use the women's bathroom and being trapped in a bathroom with a drunk customer harassing me,” she says.
Local organizers say it's the intersection of being Black and transgender that can increase the risk of death and inequality.
MANHATTAN, NY - JUNE 19: A protester wearing a mask holds a homemade sign that says, "Black Trans Lives Matter" with rainbow pride colors as another protester hods a sign with a black heart as they march around the fountain in Washington Square Park (Photo by Ira L. Black/Corbis via Getty Images)
According to the Human Rights Campaign, in 2019, Texas was named the transgender murder capital of the United States.
Groups like The Mahogany Project in Houston are working to teach trans people how to protect themselves and are also raising awareness to decrease violence.
“We deserve to exist with the freedoms and rights that everybody else has,” says founder Verniss McFarland III.
Black trans people have been active in and even the start of movements like the Stonewall Riots and Black Lives Matter. They say, now more than ever, they need the same support they’ve offered to larger minority groups.
“Just like we needed allies during the civil rights movement, we need allies now because we can't have peace for some, and not have peace for everybody. That's not how it works,” says McFarland.
Sylvester adds that change could start with education, and like other social movements, enlightening one mind at a time.
“We live in a society that is very dependent on families, and supporting Black trans lives ultimately supports the success of America as a whole,” she says. “If you are discriminating against your trans brother, your sister, your son, your daughter- it is weakening the family and is creating fractures that ultimately trickle up towards the rest of society.”
Local organizations are also working to end transgender voter suppression and creating self-defense programs for the trans community.
For more information, or to get involved, visit the links provided.
The Mahogany Project: https://www.mymahoganyproject.org/
Save Our Sisters United: https://www.facebook.com/saveoursistersunited/