As we honor the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, let’s commit to shift from tragedy to transformation. First, let’s fully honor Black transgender history. It was in the wake of the Stonewall Riots, the queer militant rebellion that gave rise to a decades-long movement for equality, that a large nonprofit industrial complex led by mostly white bourgeois cisgender gay men and lesbians emerged. As this power-broking group fought to assimilate into the broader society, it consciously sidelined more marginalized groups like people of color and trans and gender-nonconforming folks who largely spearheaded the uprising at Stonewall on that faithful night. The contributions of Black trans and gender-nonconforming folks like Marsha P. Johnson, Miss Major, and Zazu Nova were largely ignored for decades.
Now, after Supreme Court rulings have enshrined marriage equality and LGBTQ+ workplace protections, Black LGBTQ+ people are still plagued with even more discrimination than their non-Black counterparts. While mostly white and mostly cisgender national nonprofits have poured millions into legislative and judicial fights, very little funding and resources have trickled down to Black trans grassroots leaders and organizations. Most donations and proceeds from those aforementioned annual pride campaigns go to organizations that hardly, if ever, serve our communities. It’s time to change that.
We have to build up the economic empowerment and leadership of Black trans people. The general public, brands, and companies should prioritize supporting and donating to Black-led LGBTQ+ grassroots organizations. This should be the last year that national organizations without Black leadership and that don’t serve Black folks should be allowed to monopolize Pride Month. This is a time when massive amounts of funding are directed to the LGBTQ+ community. From now on, celebrities, influencers, and models should reject campaigns that do not benefit Black-led and Brown-led organizations. As well, this is a charge to national organizations to recruit and hire Black trans and queer people, particularly into leadership positions.