Groups from the Black LGBTQ community gathered Saturday at Legislative Plaza to educate attendees about the historical oppression of the community and violence against Black trans women.
Organizers spoke to the intersectionality of the discrimination faced by Black LGBTQ folks, noting that in addition to the struggles they may face due to their gender or sexuality, they also contend with racism, health disparities and over-policing.
James Mungin is a member-leader of the LGBTQ liberation group Southerners On New Ground. He says people need to start conversations with their friends and families about how transphobia and homophobia relate to white supremacy.
“We have to understand that all that is still interconnected with the oppressive forces that continually plague our communities today,” Mungin says.
The event drew as many as a couple hundred people and ended with a vigil for victims of racism, police brutality and gender-based violence.
As much of the recent anti-racist movement has centered around the names of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, Mungin says he wants a recognize a few others as well. They include Riah Milton, a Black trans woman who was killed last month during a robbery near Cincinnati. Authorities say it does not seem she was targeted for her identity.
Mungin says the purpose of Saturday’s event was to ground people together and gear up for the long road ahead. “This is a long battle,” Mungin says,” and we’re just going have to make the efforts and do the necessary changes.”
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