They Love to Talk About Us, So Let’s Give Them Something to Talk About
There has been a lot in the news about us lately.
Over the past few weeks alone, we have seen states pushing restrictions on gender-affirming healthcare, hundreds of bills introduced across the country targeting trans communities, and Kansas moving to revoke the IDs of trans residents overnight. When you look at the headlines, it can feel like a lot is being decided about OUR lives in rooms we are not invited to.
At the same time, there are also people pushing back. Advocates are challenging harmful laws in court, and lawmakers recently reintroduced the Trans Bill of Rights in Congress, which would create federal protections against discrimination in housing, healthcare, employment, and public spaces.
So, a lot is happening at once.
If you are BLACK or brown and TRANS, you already know that these conversations are not theoretical. They show up in real ways in our daily lives. They affect whether someone can find stable housing, whether someone can safely access healthcare, whether someone can show their ID without getting questioned, and whether our community organizations have the resources to respond when people need help.
These are things our community has been navigating for a long time. But too often, the information that gets used in policy conversations does not actually reflect our lived experiences. And when it comes to BLACK TRANS folks, we are even more likely to be missing from the data entirely.
Over the next few weeks, I will prepare to deliver a TRANS State of the Union Address for Trans Day of Visibility with the Christopher Street Project. When I stand up to give that address, I want it to reflect the real experiences of our community. Not assumptions or secondhand interpretations.
I need you for this part.
As I prepare to give this address, I do not want to speak in general terms. I want to speak with our experience, our stories, and our truth.
One person shared, “I have no trans friends or queer community. I'm in a very conservative space and feel extremely isolated.” Another wrote, “I've recently faced housing insecurity for the second time in my life, and the fear of not having stable and safe housing jeopardized every other area of my life.” Someone else said simply, “I'm afraid every day that I won't make it to tomorrow.”
I know I’m telling you things you already know. So help us prove our point. Help us build the database to protect our existence and make it clear to the oppressors: we are here to stay, we are here to disrupt the white-washed and boxed-in narrative. We are here to experience joy and love. We exist, and we deserve to exist.
Please take a few minutes to complete the Community Needs Assessment, and stay tuned for the TRANS State of the Union: https://marshap.org/community-needs-assessment-survey/