US Pride month marks the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. Why did they riot? Because of institutionalized discrimination and abhorrent repetitive legal brutality by the Police against members of the LGBTQ+ community.
If you are black and LGBTQ+ — your life is absolutely a series of risks and micro-aggressions as well as outright discrimination on a regular basis.
At least 26 trans and gender non-conforming people were killed in 2019. It was the 5th year in a row that the number of reported murders was over 20.
The overwhelming majority of these murders were black trans women. The overwhelming majority of these murders have not seen justice — with many still open homicide investigations. (https://www.advocate.com/transgender/2019/5/22/these-are-trans-people-killed-2019)
Intersectionality matters.
If you are black in the US, your chances of dying as an infant are higher and that is just where the list starts.
If you are LGBTQ+ and black, you are at a higher risk regarding everything that has been elevated into the social consciousness of our news media this month.
I start my pride month out by thanking those Stonewall Rioters for acting up loud enough to start a movement. 51 years later and there are still remnants of institutionalized discrimination and unequal civil rights for LGBTQ+ … and it is a much farther road to hoe for the violence and institutionalized racism targeting Black and Brown people.
That list I linked above pinpoints the hate that is being nurtured in our country against those at the intersection of multiple targeted groups.
I’m not sure how to best help yet, but I’ll start by saying that if you do fly the rainbow flag this month — do it with an understanding that we are ALL in this fight together. That #blacklivesmatter #blacktranslives and all of us should understand more than most that every group fighting for equality needs allies.
I take this moment to thank every non LGBTQ+ ally who ever marched, fought, and helped get us to this point. Everyone who stepped up to defend us, stand by us, and protect us.
And now, I deeply understand that they payed-it-forward and it’s my turn to figure out how to do a better job being an ally.
#blacklivesmatter
#ihearyouiseeyouisupportyou
Resources:
- #HateWatch – https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch
- Tell me more and I will add them (now that I wrote this, I’m hoping I can go back to sleep!)
#50plus
(C) 2020 Randi Sumner
Randi S. Sumner 