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Cudjo Lewis, the last surviving captive of the last slave ship to bring Africans to the U.S.

https://www.history.com/news/zora-neale-hurston-barracoon-slave-clotilda-survivor?utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#link_time=1525373347

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It’s so significant too that this narrative was collected by Zora Neale Hurston, one of the greatest authors and anthropologists of her time. She was shunned by the “gatekeepers” of both of these professions, largely because of her Blackness, her womanhood, and her uncompromising commitment to honoring and showcasing both in her works. She died penniless and alone in a state-run institution in 1960. All of her works had gone out of publication by then. It took more than a decade before she was rediscovered. A young author by the name of Alice Walker had come across her work and was deeply inspired by it. “In 1973, after an exhaustive search, Walker came across Hurston’s unmarked grave in Ft. Pierce, Fla. She purchased a headstone for Hurston’s tomb and had it inscribed “A Genius of the South.“”

It is through Zora Neale Hurston’s pioneering sacrifice, and the acceptance of that inheritance by Alice Walker that we have found this missing piece of our history. Without the courageous and unfailing work of Black women, we wouldn’t have Cudjo Lewis’s story. We are slowly regaining a narrative that’s been hidden from us, one that continues to be lied about. Trust Black women to lead the way.

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Last year, The HRC (Human Rights Campaign), reported that in 2019 alone, at least 26 trans and gender nonconforming people were killed in the United States alone. Disproportionately, Black trans people were the victims. Those I have illustrated here, do not even scratch the surface of what is, and should be recognised as, an epidemic. Now, more than ever, it is crucial that we do whatever we can to support the black trans community.

Please consider donating/signing the charities and petitions listed here.

EDIT- updated hyperlinks to petitions JUSTICE FOR TONY MCDADE https://www.change.org/p/justice-for-tony-mcdade JUSTICE FOR NINA POP- https://www.change.org/p/black-lives-matter-actvists-justice-for-nina-pop JUSTICE FOR TETE- https://www.change.org/p/portland-police-bureau-justice-for-tete MORE PROTECTION FOR BLACK TRANS WOMEN UK- https://www.change.org/p/boris-johnson-more-protection-for-black-trans-women-uk DONATE- BLACK VISIONS COLLECTIVE- https://www.blackvisionsmn.org TRANSGENDER LAW CENTER- https://transgenderlawcenter.org THE OKRA PROJECT- https://www.theokraproject.com LGBTQ+ FREEDOM FUND- https://www.lgbtqfund.org NATIONAL CENTER FOR BLACK EQUITY- https://centerforblackequity.org