Thursday, August 11, 2011

Black Trans Change Gonna Come

Remember when I told y'all the Black trans revolution wouldn't be televised and I kept warning people in the larger trans community that if changes didn't occur ASAP, that things were going to happen as a result of that inaction?  

African American transpeople are not happy campers right now.  Our people are taking the brunt of anti-trans discrimination and violence, we're erased, dissed and marginalized in the overall trans narrative and discourse, we aren't part of the leadership ranks of this community despite having the talent and ability to successfully lead it, and we're tired of the intramural word semantic squabbles between white transwomen negatively impacting the overall trans community.

I wasn't kidding when I wrote we want to exit this decade in far better shape than what we entered it in.   We refuse to let the decade of the 2K10's go the way that the 2K's and the 90's have gone when it comes to the Black transpeople and our place in not only the overall trans community, but our place at the African American family table as well.

The events of the last two weeks in terms of the Lashai Mclean killing and subsequent dissing at her funeral and the NAACP snub at the trans free panel was the last straw along with that unjust white radfem authored UN paper that threatens to disenfranchise non white transpeople here and across the globe from obtaining civil rights coverage that they enjoy.

Nope, no more Mr. and Ms. Nice Black Trans.   It's nation time people!

Bottom line is that we're beyond tired of the invisibility and it's time for the chocolate trans community to do what our Black sisters did in the late 80's and early 90's when they separated themselves from a similar jacked up situation in the feminist ranks.    TransGriot March 29, 2001

I cannot underscore how angry, pissed off and fed up the African-American transgender community is at this juncture.  We are just sick and tired of being sick and tired of the BS.  It's our people's blood that is being shed, yet we don't have a major say or input in the direction of this movement.  

That frustration is fueling our desire and motivation to take a page out of the proud civil rights history of our people and properly apply the lessons from it for our community.  It's past time for the African descended trans community to close ranks in order to become a stronger part of the overall community.  

How and what shape that Black trans change is going to happen is being determined and it will be an ongoing FUBU project of the highest priority.  

But rest assured, Black trans change is gonna come.


No comments: