whitewashed and misunderstood, yet
are somewhat collectively acknowl-
edged as the origin of Pride Month.
There continues to be major dispari-
ties in rights for the trans community,
especially in medical care. There is a
higher prevalence of clinical depression,
anxiety, somatization, current smokers,
former alcohol or drug use to cope with
mistreatment and attempted suicides.
According to the 2015 U.S. Transgender
Survey, about a third of trans respon-
dents reported having a negative experi-
ence in the previous year with a health
insurance provider related to being
trans. Also, as a result of America’s his-
tory of muting the contributions made by
Black trans women for modern LGBTQ+
rights and silencing these women’s voic-
es, Black trans women struggle the most
in the trans community. Over a quarter
of Black trans respondents reported
avoiding a healthcare provider when
they needed it in the past year due to fear
of mistreatment and 40 percent reported
avoiding a healthcare provider because
they could not afford it. About 20 percent
of Black trans individuals are uninsured,
compared to 14 percent of trans people
overall and 11 percent of the total U.S.
population. Over 40 percent of Black
trans individuals reported experiencing
recent psychological distress, over eight
times the rate of the U.S. population.
Black trans individuals also reported
higher rates of suicide attempts.
At the same time, Black trans
individuals reported experiencing
elevated rates of discrimination and
verbal, physical and sexual assault at
the hands of police officers. Overall,
22 percent of trans people who have
interacted with police have reported
police harassment, which jumps to
38 percent for trans people who
are Black. These high numbers
strongly point to implicit bias
law enforcement holds against
both trans and Black individu-
als, and makes it no surprise that
many trans individuals and Black
LGBTQ+ individuals, in particu-
lar, do not want police presence
at Pride celebrations and in other
LGBTQ+ spaces meant to be safe
for all members of the community.
And as people of color who are
also in the LGBTQ+ community,
Black trans people are at the inter-
section of racism and homophobia
in institutional systems. The Center
for American Progress shows how
only 35 percent of LGBTQ+ Black
women have had mammograms in
the past two years, compared to the
57 percent of all LGBTQ+ women and
the 62 percent of all heterosexual
women. The distrust in the medi-
cal system creates a higher risk for
people of color in the community, as
30 percent of LGBTQ+ Black adults
are likely to delay or not get needed
medication compared to 19 percent
of all Black heterosexual adults.
These health disparities also apply
to other communities of color, as 25
percent of LGBTQ+ Asian or Pacific
Island adults experience psychologi-
cal distress at a rate four times higher
than heterosexual Asian and Pacific
Islanders, and 2.5 times more than
the general heterosexual population;
and 60 percent of LGBTQ+ Latinx
adults report more alcohol abuse in
comparison to the 33 percent of the
Latinx heterosexual population.
As university students and as
members of The Michigan Daily
Editorial Board, we urge our fellow
students to examine these systems
of oppression and to analyze their
own biases that may impact the lives
of minorities one day. We stand in
solidarity with all individuals cel-
ebrating Pride Month and we urge
those individuals to continue to fight
for the most oppressed, marginal-
ized and intersectional communities
within each space. Understanding
the complexities of each identity is
essential to building a progressive,
inclusive and worthwhile society for
each individual. This conversation
must continue beyond the month of
June and after celebrations adorn-
ing rainbow flags and colorful outfits
fade. Realizing the real trauma and
pain, while also acknowledging the
radiance and individuality of each
community member, is critical to
gaining a deeper understanding of
the importance of intersectionality.
D
espite these historic events,
the traction made hasn’t
applied to all members of the
community. In 2019 alone, “advocates
tracked at least 27 deaths of transgen-
der or gender non-conforming people
in the U.S. due to fatal violence, the
majority of whom were Black transgen-
der women,” according to The Human
Rights Campaign.
As the Black Lives Matter protests
continue, many activists are calling
for justice for Riah Milton and Domi-
nique “Rem’mie” Fells, two Black
trans women killed during the month
of Pride. Furthermore, on June 12,
the Trump administration finalized
a rule to reverse nondiscrimination
protections for trans individuals in the
Affordable Care Act. The rule is set to
go into effect this August. When over
half of the U.S. public already believes
that gender is determined at birth, this
rule sets trans people up to face even
more harm at the hands of the U.S.
healthcare system. These inequities are
often particularly worse for Black trans
individuals, who experience the racial
disparities of the U.S. healthcare sys-
tem exacerbated by COVID-19 in addi-
tion to transgender discrimination.
In order to understand the signifi-
cance of Pride month and the Black
Lives Matter movement, one must
comprehend the inherent definition of
intersectionality — while there is varia-
tion in definitions, a key explanation
is coined by American law professor
Kimberlé Crenshaw. Crenshaw’s inter-
sectionality theory essentially allows
users to see how categories of analy-
sis (race, class, gender) coalesce. She
believes those who are at an intersec-
tion of identity, for example being both
Black and a woman, tend to be failed
by institutions of law or medicine and
overlapping experiences of systemic
oppression — for example, a combina-
tion of racism and sexism. Crenshaw
heavily argued that the social institu-
tions and policies in the United States
create and exacerbate women of color’s
vulnerability to violence and abuse,
and this situation is equally as appli-
cable to the LGBTQ+ community and
Black people. The history of the fight
for LGBTQ+ rights has been heav-
ily whitewashed and has unfortunately
erased much of the efforts by people of
color, especially trans Black women,
who paved the way of American
LGBTQ+ rights.
While many credit the Stonewall
riots as the spark of the LGBTQ+ rights
movement, the first clear event that
placed the transgender community on
America’s political history originated
in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neigh-
borhood, at Gene Compton’s cafeteria
in 1966. In a community where many
trans women and drag queens lived
openly, with full self-expression, indi-
viduals would consistently face harass-
ment, abuse and arrest from local
police officers. While the specific date
of the riot is unknown, it is said that a
trans woman, fed up with the constant
aggravation and use of force by the
police, threw a cup of coffee at an offi-
cer, igniting a riot.
Three years later, in New York City,
police raided one of the few places peo-
ple of the same sex could dance togeth-
er without harassment, the Stonewall
Inn. The Stonewall riots quickly erupt-
ed as patrons fought to defend them-
selves against police violence, throwing
bricks and bottles, marking the tipping
point for the LGBTQ+ liberation move-
ment. However, instead of crediting
LGBTQ+ activists of color who were
heavily involved and constantly fought
against unjust police raids, such as
Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera,
people often focus on the mystery of
who threw the first brick, or if Judy
Garland, a white cisgender actress, was
the inspiration for the riot. On the one
year anniversary of the Stonewall riot,
the first Pride march was held. These
historical events that paved the way
for future activism are often mistold,
4
Thursday, July 2, 2020
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
OPINION
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BRITTANY BOWMAN
Editorial Page Editor
Alanna Berger
Zack Blumberg
Brittany Bowman
Emily Considine
Elizabeth Cook
Jess D’Agostino
Jenny Gurung
Cheryn Hong
Zoe Phillips
Mary Rolfes
Michael Russo
Gabrijela Skoko
Timothy Spurlin
Joel Weiner
Erin White
Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily’s Editorial Board.
All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.
EMMA STEIN
Editor in Chief
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS
FROM THE DAILY
Understanding intersectional Pride
T
hroughout the month of June, the 50th anniversary of Pride Month
is being boldly and unapologetically celebrated by members of the
LGBTQ+ community and its allies across the globe. As Pride has become
a widespread protest and celebration internationally, the United States government
has made some major strides in granting basic human rights to LGBTQ+ identifying
people, like the legalization of same-sex marriage in 2015 and the recent Supreme
Court ruling protecting the LGBTQ+ community from employer discrimination.
Graphic by Hibah Chughtai