I Was Attacked By A Transphobic Mob. Here’s Why I’m Fighting Harder For Black Trans Women Now.

In August 2020, a mob burst into my home in Philadelphia, screaming transphobic slurs and beating me senseless with their fists, feet and weapons until my bones broke. So many transgender women — including my Philadelphia sisters Dominique “Rem’mie” Fells and Mia Green, along with many other Black trans women around the nation — are not as fortunate as me to have survived a violent attack. In fact, the American Medical Association in 2019 deemed the fatal violence against transgender women an “epidemic.” Though this grim truth may have only recently been documented with such magnitude, the reality is that we’ve experienced high levels of violence since well before 2019. “I hope for everyone’s sake that people open their hearts and bond together to end the relentless violence against Black transgender women.” Activist Elliott Ashby said it best when he stated: “Every bigot was once a child without prejudice.” My advocacy work is centered on that very notion: reaching out to the nonjudgmental child that exists within us all. I hope for everyone’s sake that people open their hearts and bond together to end the relentless violence against Black transgender women.