Friend,

“We have been told to be silent for too long,” said Black transgender activist Raquel Willis, addressing 15,000 people gathered earlier this month to protest for Black trans rights and lives.¹

Living at multiple intersections of oppression, Black trans and gender non-conforming people face much higher rates of poverty, discrimination, violence, harassment, and criminalization than other groups. Just in the past few months, police and others have killed Nina Pop, Monika Diamond, Tony McDade, Dominique “Rem’mie” Fells, and Riah Milton.²

When we talk about valuing Black life, addressing anti-Black racism, and investing in Black communities, we must center the most marginalized people among us—especially Black trans women and femmes.

Act in solidarity with Black trans women: Donate now to the Trans Sistas of Color Project.

In response to the rising numbers of murders of trans women of color—particularly Black women—in the U.S. and Detroit, trans women of color founded the Trans Sistas of Color Project in 2015.

The grassroots collective builds community, power, and agency among trans women of color in metro Detroit. Their projects include helping trans youth navigate the workforce, supporting trans women of color to get GEDs and change names/gender listings on government documents, running programs like self-defense trainings, and providing financial assistance for healthcare and other needs.

Now in the pandemic, the group is making and delivering care packages to transgender women of color in the Detroit area.

Along with hand sanitizer, the care packages contain items like hand wipes, toilet paper, non-perishable food items such as granola bars and canned goods, water, and blankets. With limited resources so far, the group is prioritizing elderly people, people who experience unstable housing, and sex workers—a group of people who are especially dehumanized and treated as disposable.

Tiffany Richardson, a board mother of the Trans Sistas of Color Project, said: “For all of the trans women of color who are feeling alone, left out, or discarded, it's important that they see that there’s a place where they belong.”³ It’s not only about helping trans women of color through intense oppression and struggle, but also creating safe spaces for healing, joy, and liberation.

Support Black trans lives and futures. Please donate now to the Trans Sistas of Color Project in Detroit.

This month marks the 50th anniversary of the first Pride march. For too long, the mainstream narrative about the LGBTQ+ rights movement has erased the stories of the Black and brown trans activists who helped start it. Unapologetic trans women of color like Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera started the Stonewall Uprising of 1969, and then led the first Pride march to protest police violence, racism, transphobia, and homophobia.

A Black trans woman, a sex worker, and a drag queen, Marsha P. Johnson declared: “No Pride for some of us without liberation for all of us.” She fought for everyone’s right and ability to be our full selves. Marsha’s trailblazing leadership paved the way for this month’s momentous Supreme Court ruling, which prohibits workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Up until this ruling, millions of LGBTQ+ people could be legally fired because of who they are.

This incredible victory is also thanks to another courageous champion for equality: Aimee Stephens, a trans woman from Michigan’s 13th district. She brought her case against her former employer all the way to the Supreme Court, but unfortunately passed away earlier this year before she could see the outcome. Aimee’s legacy lives on: Because of her, millions of LGBTQ+ people are now so much closer to full equality under the law.

But we still have much farther to go. It took Aimee over a year to work up the courage to write a letter to her employer, explaining that she was trans and would be dressing in accordance with her gender identity at work. As the need to be true to herself kept getting stronger, she said: “It was either send the letter or not be here anymore”—she had considered ending her life.⁴

Over 80% of trans people in the U.S. have seriously thought about suicide in their lifetimes. Many experience family rejection, disproportionately higher rates of housing insecurity and unemployment, police violence, sexual abuse, and discrimination in healthcare. And now, in the middle of a pandemic that’s killing Black Americans at three times the rate of white Americans, Trump’s administration just erased essential protections for transgender patients.

We must act now to address this urgent crisis, including through changing policy and acting in our communities. To achieve true justice and liberation, we must center and uplift Black trans leadership at every step.

Support Black trans leadership. Please donate what you can to the Trans Sistas of Color Project today.

Black trans women deserve to be heard, valued, and protected as human beings. In our oppressive world, healing spaces like those provided by the Trans Sistas of Color Project are more necessary than ever.

Black trans women need spaces for healing from systemic trauma. In addition to facing ongoing violence, nearly HALF (47%) of all Black trans people have been incarcerated at some point.⁵

The statistics are outrageous.

Abandoned by their families and communities, many LGBTQ+ young people end up homeless, which puts them more at risk of police interactions and arrests. Due to interpersonal and structural discrimination, 30% of trans people (and 42% of Black trans people) have experienced homelessness at some point in their lives.⁶ At every turn, more barriers spring up. For example, many shelters and drop-in centers discriminate against and deny access to trans people.

Police target trans people, especially Black and brown trans women, for harassment and arrests. More likely to end up behind bars, LGBTQ+ people are also more likely to face physical and sexual abuse while in prison than other groups. Many trans women are placed in men’s prisons, experiencing daily abuse and hell, only to be locked in solitary confinement—a form of torture—for their “protection.”⁷ Overall, one in two trans people have experienced sexual abuse, many at the hands of police officers.⁸

This horrific, compounding oppression and trauma is intensified for trans women and femmes of color, especially Black people. This is the war on Black trans women.

And yet in spite of all of this, Black trans women have been building communities and power, creating art and culture, and pushing our society toward justice and equity.

As more people demand that Black lives matter, we must declare that Black trans lives matter, too. As Black trans activist Raquel Willis told the crowd at New York City’s recent #BlackTransLivesMatter protest, all of us “have a duty and responsibility to elevate Black trans power.”

Elevate Black trans power. Chip in now to the Trans Sistas of Color Project in Detroit.

No matter our backgrounds and experiences, our liberation is linked, and so is our power. While addressing the #BlackTransLivesMatter crowd in NYC this month, Raquel led a series of call-and-response chants, with thousands of people echoing back: "I believe in my power. I believe in your power. I believe in our power. I believe in Black trans power."⁹

In solidarity,

Rashida