As protests for racial justice and against police brutality have gained national attention in the last several months, we’ve seen a number of statues commemorating Confederates and colonizers topple. While that change alone is fantastic, the city of Elizabeth, New Jersey is pushing things to the next level by erecting a monument of Black transgender civil rights icon Marsha P. Johnson, as reported by CNN. Johnson, a pioneer and activist for LGBTQ+ youth, sex workers, and low-income LGBTQ+ people of color, is best known and commemorated for her role in the Stonewall uprising back in 1969.
Why Elizabeth? Though she spent most of her adulthood in New York City, Elizabeth is actually Johnson’s hometown. And the people of her hometown want her represented with pride; 160,000 people signed a petition in early July to have a statue erected of her in place of Christoper Columbus, as reported by NBC News. As reported by NJ.com, however, Johnson’s family ultimately decided to have her monument placed by City Hall, where it would get better visibility in the community. Overall, this statue is an inspiring and significant win, but it’s far from the end of the fight for trans equality—especially under the Trump administration.
In fact, with the Trump administration at the helm, attacks on the rights of transgender youth have carried on full steam in some areas that don’t get a lot of mainstream media attention. One example? Sports. In some states—for example, Connecticut—transgender students are facing literal lawsuits over their desire to compete on the sports team that matches their gender identity. Meanwhile, some Republican states, like Tennessee and Idaho, have tried to put laws on the books that would prevent transgender students from joining teams that match their gender identity.
All of that discrimination is bad enough, but it’s especially abhorrent when we consider that LGBTQ+ youth are more likely to face mental health obstacles like depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation. Transgender youth, specifically, report higher rates of homelessness, as well as bullying and harassment while in school. As adults, we also know that transgender women of color—and especially Black transgender women—face particularly high rates of violence, housing insecurity, and employment discrimination.
You can check out simple ways to support your trans loved ones, as well as some basics on how to use pronouns beyond “she” and “he.”
To learn more about Johnson, you can check out a Netflix documentary on her entitled The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson, the trailer for which is below.
You can also stream a full documentary on Johnson from Frameline Voices for free on YouTube, embedded below.