Black Transwomen Are Fed Up

I and legions of Black transwomen, no matter our age, are tired of the memes deployed against us that all we want to do is party, escort and have sex.  

We have people who take our roles as African descended transwomen seriously.  There are those of us who wish to and are eager to accept the challenge of leadership in this community.   We have people who thirst for knowledge.   There are African descended transwomen who are smart and capable of deep philosophical thought..  

And we know that we are beautiful inside and out.


Many of us are well aware of the drama we willingly accepted when we transitioned into our female bodies in terms of the sexism and other issues unique to navigating life in a feminine gender role.  But by doing so that didn't mean we forfeited our status as African descended people or our humanity while doing so.

And now, after a difficult 2011 which has seen more of our transsisters dying, others being shot at by people with and without badges and disrespected by one of our legacy organizations, let me state boldly that we're fed up with this crap.  

It's nation time Black transwomen!  

If we're fed up with the status quo situation that is deleteriously affecting us, it's past time for us to demand that our humanity and the human and civil rights that go with it are recognized respected and protected.  

We are tired of taking the brunt of along with our Latina sisters of this community's anti-trans violence casualties.  We are tired of shedding our blood and tears for our lost sisters but not having a major say in setting the policy directions of or being recognized as leaders in the trans rights movement. 

As Eldridge Cleaver said in 1976, "You don't have to teach people how to be human. You have to teach them how to stop being inhuman."

And class is now in session.

You will not be allowed to trample over our human rights any longer.   You will not use us for target practice or think you can hit us with impunity.  You will not walk around with the presumption that you can murder or sexually assault us without legal repercussions.  You will not be allowed any longer to oppress our civil rights without being called on it.   You will not be allowed to erase us from everyday life just to perpetrate the fiction that we don't exist.   You will not deny us a place at the African American family table and every other human rights one we interact with and by right get to sit at..

This is not up for negotiation or debate because we've had enough of being marginalized, erased, denigrated and disrespected inside and outside the TBLG community  

Class dismissed.