On Saturday, November 2, community activists Black Queer & Intersectional Collective (BQIC) will hold a march of solidarity through the Short North for Black trans women who have lost their lives this year due to violence.
Activists and community members will gather at North High Street and West Poplar Avenue at 5:30 p.m., and march to call attention to the violence that is occurring nationally and around the world against Black trans women.
In 2019, there have been 20 reported murders of Black trans women in the U.S., pointing to the all-too-often fatal consequences of living at the intersections of racism, sexism and transphobia. Activists say these systemic oppressions significantly alter the quality of life of Black trans women and limits their options for employment, housing, healthcare and other necessities, in turn making them increasingly vulnerable to acts of violence.
BQIC cites incidents like the murder of Rae’Lynn Thomas, a Columbus trans woman murdered by her mother’s boyfriend in 2016, showing Columbus is not exempt from this pattern of violence.
“Violence against Black trans women will not end if people do not invest time and energy into their lives and liberation, and this upcoming march is calling for community members far and wide to start doing more to protect Black trans communities,” says the group. “The murders of Black trans women demands immediate attention and action everywhere, including here in Columbus.”
“We stand with the black trans women here in Columbus,” says Ambrose DuPree, a BQIC core organizer. “It’s also an opportunity for the greater Columbus to learn how to be in community with us.”
The march is the first event in a month-long series of programming that BQIC will host in November to provide direct support and increase awareness of the systematic traumas Black trans women face in Central Ohio.
For more information, visit BQIC’s Facebook Page.
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