Wednesday, August 02, 2017

Black Community Transphobia Will Be Called Out, Not Ignored

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In the wake of the broadcast coonery and buffoonery of the Breakfast Club and its unrepentant host doubling down on the transphobia followed by the death Monday of another African American trans women in the ATL area, it's time to say this once more to my people and hope you get it.

Black cis people need to start grasping the basic point that we Black trans people are STILL part of the Black community and the African Diaspora.  We are beyond sick and tired of being sick and tired of the transphobic attitudes being expressed in our Black community ranks..


Our humanity and human rights are not up for debate or discussion or topics for tasteless jokes. Trans folks and gender variant people have existed on every continent, including Africa, since modern humans appeared on this planet.   

We Black trans folks will no longer tolerate disrespect, demonization or dissemination of loud and wrong ignorance about our trans lives from Black cis people.
 From this day forward it's getting called out.  

Sometimes those call outs will not be nice ones especially if we asked politely the first time for you to cease and desist with the transphobic behavior we found problematic and necessary to call you out on in the first place.

If you don't like the fact that Black trans people are demanding respect for their humanity and human rights within our community, too damned bad.   


Neither will we in Black Trans World tolerate any attempts to peddle Black community transphobia as a 'difference of opinion', 'religious beliefs', or whatever BS excuse du jour you come up with to try to willfully ignore the fact that Black transpeople exist, aren't going away or back into the closet.  

Last time I read the Bible, didn't see a scripture in either the Old or New Testament that stated  thou shalt hate on transgender people.'    But I did read one in the New Testament, Matthew 22:39 to be precise, that states thou shalt love thy neighbor as you love yourself.

And neighbor in this case
includes your transgender neighbor.   Your transgender neighbor is an intertwined part of the Black community, shares your DNA and history, and is an undeniable part of the diverse mosaic of human life.

We Black trans folks are the experts when it comes to living our Black trans lives. Unless you have a PhD in gender studies or genetics, it's past time you listened to what we have to say about our real world experiences in being Black and trans.   We're tired of being flippantly blown off in discourse about our trans lives as you cisplain them.

It's also past time to stop the shady practice of having any kind of conversation about trans lives without Black trans people being part of that discussion. 


We're also tired of hearing cis Black people recite anti-trans talking points we've heard far too often from white fundamentalist preachers, white fauxminist TERF's or Republican politicians.
Once again, and follow the bouncing clenched fist.   Trans men are men, trans women are women.

And news flash, there are Black parents of Black trans kids who need you to stop reciting the loud and wrong disinformation that get trans people assaulted and killed.




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We're tired of the anti-trans violence and anti-trans hate speech coming from our own community. It needs to stop. Today

As Archbishop Desmond Tutu once eloquently said, “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” When you are silent, you are condoning the behavior.'
Trans people's humanity and human rights are being attacked.  

Many of those trans folks happen to be Black.   Injustice is being aimed at us, so where do you stand cis Black community?   
Do you stand with the trans oppressor or the people fighting the oppression?  .  
Sadly, your behavior leads us to believe that far too many of you are eagerly lining up with our oppressors

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