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

420 Maynard St. 
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
 tothedaily@michigandaily.com

Edited and managed by students at 
the University of Michigan since 1890.

 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

