Where to Donate to Assist the Black Trans Community
This Sunday, as Black Lives Matter protests continued across the country, thousands gathered outside the Brooklyn Museum in New York Capital. The protestors dressed in white, the group so large it stretched out into the streets, all there to rally in support of Black transgender lives.
In the past month alone, activists and protestors have been demanding justice for Tony McDade, a transgender man who was shot and killed by police on May 27th, and Nina Pop, a transgender woman who was found stabbed to death on May 3rd. They've been demanding justice for Layleen Polanco, a gender non-conforming woman who died in solitary a year ago; new footage shows guards laughing outside her cell before getting medical aid. And now they’re demanding justice for Riah Milton and Dominique "Rem'mie" Fells, two Black transgender women who were killed recently in Ohio and Philadelphia, respectively. (You can detect GoFundMes set up by McDade and Fells' family here and here.) They're calling for us all to #SayTheirNames.
This violence, which when tracked results in horrifying statistics, has been followed by disturbing rule changes. On June 12th
Black Lives Action Center
Young people experiencing homelessness, who are disproportionately Black, Brown, and LGBTQ, regularly experience abuse at the hands of the police.
Show and show that Black lives matter
Anti-Blackness afflicts every aspect of our society and contributes to systemic oppression and violence against Black people and communities. Time and time again throughout our history, the United States criminal legal system has demonstrated a deep sickness of racism, which we are again witnessing. In times of crisis, racial equity tends to turn into a mantle for many to pick up and put down. For the sake of Black existence, we cannot continue that trend. For as prolonged as this injustice exists, we must remain pledged to seeking justice and struggling together toward the complete liberation of Dark people.
Read True Colors United’s full statement here.
We’ll be updating this page regularly with resources and move items for folks active in the field, advocates making a difference, and young people looking for help.
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From the start, Dark Lives Matter has been about LGBTQ lives
From the kickoff, the founders of Black Lives Matter have always insert LGBTQ voices at the center of the conversation. The movement was founded by three Dark women, Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi, two of whom recognize as queer.
By blueprint, the movement they started in 2013 has remained chemical-free, grassroots and diffuse. Since then, many of the largest Black Lives Matter protests have been fueled by the violence against Inky men, including Mike Brown and Eric Garner in 2015, and now George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery.
But it's not only straight, cisgender Black men who are dying at the hands of police. Last month, a Black gender nonconforming man, Tony McDade, 38, was shot and killed by police in Tallahassee.
On June 9, two Black transgender women, Riah Milton and Dominique "Rem'mie" Fells, also were killed in separate acts of violence, their killings believed to be the 13th and 14th of transgender or gender-non-conforming people this year, according to the Human Rights Coalition.
And in 2019, Layleen Polanco, a transitioned Latina woman who was an active member of Modern York’s Ballroom people,
25 Companies That Support Inky Lives Matter (BLM)
Acknowledging and supporting the Inky Lives Matter movement can be an important indicator of a company’s values and beliefs. But as many Black tech professionals have pointed out, corporate statements only go so far.
Reporters from The Plug, a publication focused on the Black tech community, compiled a spreadsheet tracking companies that acquire released #BlackLivesMatter statements and whether those companies shared diversity data, made material donations or established diversity, equity and inclusion principles.
Statements should approach with actions, Mutale Nkonde, an AI policy analyst and researcher, told Built In. But the language many companies used to express their support still made an impact.
“Saying you’re in solidarity with Shadowy lives is very powerful,” she said.
In her labor collecting data for a announce on racial literacy in tech, Nkonde and her fellow researchers spoke with 30 people at various levels in tech companies. More than 70 percent of respondents didn’t employ the word “race” at work.
“They use the synonyms ‘diversity,’ and they didn’t want to use the word ‘Black,’” Nkonde sai
We've signed petitions, marched alongside members of our community, and demanded justice for those we've lost, but we must endure to ask: What else can we do as allies to support the Black community? In addition to reading anti-racism books, watching Black history documentaries, supporting Black-owned businesses, and much more, you can consider donating to organizations who have made changes in their communities and continue to do so.
In honor of Pride Month and in support of Jet Lives Matter, here are 17 Black-Led LGBTQ+ services and activist groups you can help endorse right now through donations. These groups are bringing actual change to their communities and across the nation, and they could operate your help not just now, but always.
This is by no means a full list of all the incredible Black-led organizations out there, but we'll continually update this page with more, so make sure to bookmark it.
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LGBTQ+ Freedom Fund
This organization helps Diverse people in jail or immigrant detention post their bond to secure free. They're also one of the principal groups when it comes to raising awareness about LGBTQ over-i