Many communities are engaging in proactive and responsive action to the violence and harms in our current world – addressing issues like Black Lives Matter, police brutality, unfair justice systems, reproductive rights, health crises, and LGBTQ+ rights. We all hold many overlapping identities and experiences. There are many ways to get involved and support protests; some involve showing up for in-person demonstration, but there are also ways to participate if you cannot be out on the streets.
- Show up with or for the trans people in your life. Choose to go together and meet up at a protest or rally. If you choose to attend a protest, make sure to be aware of some basic protest safety. Always wear a mask and follow social distancing measures whenever possible. Know your rights!
- Wear t-shirts or buttons or create signs that honor and value trans+ lives. You can wear these to a protest, around your home, to your workplace, in public, or any other area where you want to show your support for the trans community and feel safe to do so.
- Be an active and visible person in the quest for equality and justice. White people, including white trans people, benefit from privilege which sometimes allows us to be more vocal about inequity, violence, and discrimination than people of color are able to be. Use this privilege by posting information on social media, protecting others at in-person protests, or challenging racist and transphobic language or constructs in your workplace or own life.
- Know the facts about trans people and police violence. Trans people are 3.7x more likely to experience police violence than cisgender people. Trans people of color experience even higher rates of police violence: 6x more likely than white cis people.
- You don’t have to march in the streets to support protestors. This article lists 17 places you can donate to support Black trans lives, including bail funds for protestors. You can also donate directly to local bail funds in your area.
- You can also consider taking on direct advocacy with public officials. FORGE’s YouTube video Trans+ Advocacy and Activism can get you started.
#30DaysOfAction #TDOR #TDOR2020 #Trans #NonBinary
P.S. There’s another opportunity to support trans lives coming up on December 1 (#GivingTuesday).