On Transgender Day of Remembrance, we mourn and honor the lives of transgender and gender-nonconforming people who have been murdered this year in the United States. As we remember, we also acknowledge that a combination of anti-trans bias and racism leads to trans people of color experiencing particularly harmful levels of discrimination and violence. Discrimination and violence against transgender and gender-nonconforming people is not only perpetrated by individuals, but also by the state.
The statistics are staggering:
According to the National Anti-Violence Project, 64% of all LGBTQ murder victims in the United States during 2016 were Black.
54% of all LGBTQ murder victims were trans women of color.
According to the 2011 National Transgender Discrimination Survey, US trans people were nearly four times as likely to be living in extreme poverty, with Black trans people more than eight times as likely as the general U.S. population to be living in extreme poverty.
47% of all Black trans people have been incarcerated at some point.
As white people, we can take action by:
Unlearning our own racism and committing to educating ourselves on the intersection of white supremacy and patriarchy, systems which sustain the hostile conditions that put trans women of color, and Black trans women specifically, at increased risk for violence.
Getting involved in anti-racist action by finding local racial justice groups, and ensuring that our actions support Black trans lives.
Financially supporting organizations led by trans women of color.
Engaging other white people in conversation about how the freedom of trans people, especially Black trans women, is critical to the formation of peaceful, just communities.
We echo the demand of the Movement for Black Lives to end the war on Black trans, queer, and gender-nonconforming people, including through policies that perpetuate discrimination and harassment in education, employment, policing, prisons, health care, housing, and more.
#blacktranslivesmatter