Pride: The Contributions of Trans Women of Color Then and Now
Happy Pride Weekend!
What an important time to celebrate love and its equality. Pride month is a time to honor the LGBTQ+ community and their families. As clinicians and allies, we take this time to acknowledge the estimated 3 million people in the United States who identify as LGBTQ+ and are also parents, the challenges they and their families face, and what therapeutic interventions and policies are needed to support them.
Pride celebrates the Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan on June 28, 1969—an event that became a galvanizing force for LGBTQ+ political activism and the Gay Rights Movement. Over 50 years of fighting for liberation and equality, same-sex marriage is constitutionally legal and civil rights laws protect gay and trans people from workplace discrimination. But there is still more work to do, especially for the Black trans community. Pride comes during a time when continued racism and the many deaths of unarmed Black people are tearing through our country—a country where systemic racism has permeated and oppression has been allowed to persist.
Pride was born from the protests and resistance led by trans people of color, who historically have not been mentioned in the movement or have been left to fend for themselves when it comes to policies that secure access and resources necessary for survival. This year especially, Pride cannot be celebrated without acknowledging the critical, often dangerous work, that has been done and continues to be done, by Black queer activists. We must combat social injustice for all vulnerable and oppressed populations, we can not uplift some and leave behind another.
Say Their Names: Here are some of the women of color behind the Stonewall Riots:
Marsha P Johnson, a self-identified drag queen, was one of the prominent figures in the Stonewall uprising and a central figure in the gay liberation movement. Energized from the Stonewall Riots, Johnson was known as an outspoken activist and on the front lines of protests against oppressive policing. Johnson co-founded the radical activist group Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries, along with close friend Sylvia Rivera. Though initially ruled a suicide, in 1992, Marsha P. Johnson’s body was found in the river causing many to believe that she was murdered.
Sylvia Rivera was a Latinx transgender rights activist known for her participation in the Stonewall uprising. She fought tirelessly not only for the rights of gay people but also for the inclusion of trans individuals, like herself in the movement. In honor of Rivera's activism in the gay and trans community, The Sylvia Rivera Law Project was founded in 2002 — the same year of her death—giving gay, trans, and gender-fluid individuals access to legal services, leadership teachings, and advocacy skills.
Stormé DeLarverie was a biracial, androgynous, lesbian, who is credited with throwing the first punch against a police officer at the Stonewall Inn, which incited the Stonewall uprising. DeLarverie played a role in the gay liberation movement and for many decades served the community as a volunteer street patrol worker in Greenwich Village.
Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, a transgender woman of color, who has spent over four decades advocating for the marginalized groups and contributing to the modern trans movement. Miss Major emerged from the perilous Stonewall uprising with a commitment to support the transgender community. Her role as an activist and community leader for transgender rights focuses particularly on women of color. The road has not always been easy and she has been incarcerated on several occasions due to her radical political stance on issues such as Black liberation, but Miss Major still fights for the rights of young transgender people.
The roles played by trans women of color during Stonewall illustrates that oppression is layered. The progression of the LGBTQ+ community relied on the political and cultural contributions of Black and Latinx trans women, but this same group was often left out from the liberation movement. This represents an ongoing contradiction in this country: that while all members of a marginalized group fight for justice, only some will see the advantages. This has been demonstrated time and time again, as with women of color in the women’s rights liberation, transgender folks in the gay rights movement, and while there is an effort to include Black trans lives in the Black Lives Matter movement, this came after trans people— like Tony McDade—were initially left out of the conversation about police violence against Black people.
The result is grim for Black transgender women who are being killed by police officers and civilians and discriminated against by policies, such as the reversal of transgender health protections by the Trump Administration. According to the HRC, at least 27 transgender or gender non-conforming people in the US have died due to fatal violence, the majority of whom were Black transgender women.
We need to be better
As we celebrate Pride and fight for racial justice, how do we make sure our actions are inclusive of Black transgendered people? We can be better about inclusion. We can be better allies and work harder to uplift Black transgender individuals, not just during the month of Pride, but all year long. Similar to antiracist work, to be a transgender ally, you must be willing to challenge injustice by speaking up, fighting against, and not being afraid to have skin in the game. While it one thing to be an ally during Pride, are you willing to speak up at work, at school, in your own families, friend groups, and communities? Ask yourself, are you like, Stormé DeLarverie, do you have what it takes to throw the first punch?
References
Chan, S. (2018, March 8). Marsha P. Johnson: A transgender pioneer and activist who was a fixture of Greenwich Village street life. NY Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/obituaries/overlooked-marsha-p-johnson.html
Maxouris, C. (2019, June 26). Marsha P. Johnson: A black transgender women was a central figure in the gay liberation movement. CNN Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/26/us/marsha-p-johnson-biography/index.html
Oliver, D and Ali, R. (2019, June 24). Why we owe pride to Black transgender women who threw bricks at cops. USA Today. Retrieved from https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/voices/2019/06/24/pride-month-black-transgender-women-stonewall-marsha-p-johnson/1478200001/
Robertson, J. D. (2017, June 4). Remembering Stormé: The woman of color who incited the Stonewall revolution. Huffington Post. Retrieved from https://www.huffpost.com/entry/remembering-storm%C3%A9-the-woman-who-incited-the-stonewall_b_5933c061e4b062a6ac0ad09e
Violence against the transgender and gender non-confirming community in 2020. Human Rights Campaign. Retrieved from https://www.hrc.org/resources/violence-against-the-trans-and-gender-non-conforming-community-in-2020
Willis, R. (2018, March 8). TransVisionarie: How Miss Major helped spark the modern trans movement. Them. Retrieved from https://www.them.us/story/transvisionaries-miss-major