While this Pride season is very different from previous years, we should take some time to pay tribute to Black lives within the LGBTQ+ space. One notable Black trans woman, named Marsha P. Johnson, was one of the two pioneers of the original Stonewall Riots on June 28th, 1969. The other, Sylvia Rivera, was a Latinx trans woman who hand-in-hand ignited the gay rights movement 51 years ago that has led to many of the progressive changes we see today. While there is still work to be done moving forward in advocating and securing rights within the healthcare industry and beyond for the LGBTQ+ community, we can thank these mothers of the movement for their efforts in 1969. Without trans women of color, specifically Black trans women, modern LGBTQ+ acceptance would not be remotely the same. 

Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera founded the STAR (Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries) to support the marginalized community and spearheaded the riots between police and activists at the Stonewall Inn in New York City. At the time, homosexuality was illegal and the Stonewall Inn was a gay bar that police targeted with a warrant seeking arrests. It was reported that Marsha P. Johnson threw the first brick/shot glass that acted as a catalyst for resistance to oppression at the time. 

Women and men of color play a quintessential role in the gay rights movement and face the most disparities within the LGBTQ+ community. Black trans women and men face discrimination as trans members of society in addition to racism and gender inequality (for women). Black and POC Trans individuals are six times more likely to experience physical violence when interacting with the police than white individuals according to the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs. The high profile murder of Tony McDade, a Black trans man, who was shot by police two days after George Floyd sadly serves as testament to these figures. Black trans people face lynchings and murder at higher rates and history erases their voices; ultimately whitewashing the Gay Right Movement as a whole. We face a continued stream of Black trans women who have been murdered this month, including Riah Milton in Ohio and Dominique “Rem’Mie” Fells in Pennsylvania. Along with the Trump administration reversing the rights of the LGBTQ+ community within the healthcare system. We need to continue the activist work that Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera founded. 

This month, let’s continue to shine a light on these unspoken heroes and educate others on how BIPOC trans women and men played a continuous integral role in the road to legalizing gay marriage and many other legislations that benefit the LGBTQ+ community today. Remember to lift Black Trans Lives as they need our support more than ever as we continue to support the LGBTQ+ community and Black Lives Matter movement. Sign petitions, educate yourself and others and vote for leaders who can support the LGBTQ+ community in the months to come. Happy Pride Month!

xo,

Christine Celine

Resources for Supporting Black Trans Lives:

Marsha P. Johnson Institute

For the Gworls

The Okra Project