Let’s Do It Now: Honoring The Lives Of Transgender Women Of Color
Islan Nettles. Domonique Newburn. Diamond Williams. Kelly Young. Ashley Sinclair. Ce Ce Acoff.
These are the names of friends, family members – of origin and chosen families – loved ones, leaders, activists and inspirations. Only most of us have just recently learned their names in the context of the violent transphobia that ended their lives.
We hear about these transgender women of color because they were killed for being themselves. We learn that transgender women comprised more than half of all anti-LGBT homicides in 2012 and people of color, more than three-quarters. We hear their names and feel anger, grief and outrage.
But what would a world look like in which transgender women of color were celebrated, appreciated, honored during their lives?
This week we grieve for Islan Nettles (image, top), who was killed for being who she is, in an attack which occurred in the early morning hours on Saturday, August 17, in Harlem here in New York City. Tonight the Anti-Violence Project (AVP) will stand with Islan’s family, friends and loved ones, and alongside Harlem Pride and so many other organizations and community members who have come out to grieve her loss.
And all of us there will feel that grieving isn’t enough. Being angry and outraged isn’t enough.
Islan, Domonique, Diamond, Kelly, Ashley and Ce Ce died because we live in a world where transgender women of color are dismissed, degraded as other, as inhuman. These women died because transphobia means systemic discrimination — in employment, housing, health care. They died because we profile them as sex workers, stop, frisk, arrest and incarcerate them — and deny their identity and brutalize them while in prison. They died because we are so uncomfortable with the idea that people should be respected for who they are that we spew hate speech (he/she/it, ‘shemale’) loudly, publicly, without shame. They died because we can’t value transgender women of color.
We need more than rallies and vigils. We need laws that protect transgender people, but we need more than that. We need jobs and housing and appropriate health care for transgender women of color. We need to decriminalize being transgender. We need racial equality. We need safety.
We need the leadership of transgender women of color and we need to prioritize that leadership in our work toward LGBT equality, racial justice, safety.
We can do this. We are smart enough, nuanced enough, big enough to work at the intersections. We have to decide to. Let’s do it now.
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Sharon Stapel is the Executive Director of the New York City Anti-Violence Project (AVP). AVP empowers lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and HIV-affected communities and allies to end all forms of violence through organizing and education, and support survivors through counseling and advocacy.
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