Third Post: Who Exactly is being Erased?
When we discuss erasure on black transgender people, it is hard to shed light on those who have been erased because there has been such systemic erasure of black trans voices that we are becoming farther and father from a point where we can search for eyewitnesses who have the truth. Only truly well-versed gender diplomats can name more than five activists that were directly involved with Stonewall riots and trans liberation movements around that time period (mid to late 60′s and 70′s), simply because the information is not accessible.
When we talk about who is being erased, it is mainly the efforts of black transgender women who are being shut down. Marsha Johnson and Miss Major, two black transgender women who were original pioneers in the Stonewall riots, do not get the recognition for their efforts within queer and gender variant studies. Black transgender women arguably face some of the most violence based on their identity more so than other intersectional identity groups.
When we arrive at the crossroads of blackness and womanhood, there is a special kind of oppression that these women face based on their unique experiences with racism and sexism. There is a word for this: misogynoir. When we add another fork in the road that is transness, we get what is called transmisogynoir. The need for these specific terms highlight how awful it is for black transgender women
Marsha P Johnson was one of the original instigators at the Stonewall Riots and created an organization with Sylvia Rivera to provide resources for transgender women. Marsha was found dead in the Hudson River at 48 years old, and her death was ruled a suicide by police, although friends and family insisted that she was not suicidal. Her case was not reopened again until 2012, after lobbying by activists. The way that her case was handled very sadly mimics the pattern that exists today with black transgender women. The erasure of these women directly results in the violence. If no one is held accountable for it, how does the cycle end?