A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend a panel discussion on the intersection of race, sexuality, and homophobia at Georgia State University and was struck by the story of a beautiful transgender woman named Somiaya who shared her experience as a victim of a hate crime.
It's not surprising that non-LGBT communities know very little about the experience of trans people but it's incredibly disheartening to see the lack of awareness and respect within our own community when it comes to our trans brothers and sisters. The "T" may be apart of the acronym but the people who identify as trans are often misunderstood and even further marginalized as evident in this thread.
Not to forget that trans identified people are frequently the targets of vicious hate crimes and workplace discrimination.
Somiaya tells a heart wrenching tale of an incident that thankfully didn't result in death as so many attacks on LGBT people have, yet the reaction of those who watched the incident occur and offered no assistance is enough to make anyone with the smallest ounce of compassion hurl.
Today is the National Transgender Day of Rememberance and I will do my part to make sure the "T" is represented on this blog consistently and not just on this day every year.
Get into the video below:
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