Where Did Our Love Go?

Understanding the reasons behind the violence against the LGBTQ community.

- Lala Zannell

AFRICAN-AMERICANS SHOULD NOT continue to ignore the killings of trans women of color and the role Blacks play in the world regarding transphobia. A range of negative attitudes, feelings or actions is often directed toward transgender or gender-nonconforming people.

As a trans woman of color and anti-violence activist, I see firsthand how we are subjected to various tiers of discrimination: racism, sexism and transphobia.

Some point the finger at White supremacy, religion and politics—and yes, those systems created and caused plenty of harm. But what I cannot grasp for the life of me is why the Black community can now play a part in this type of hate, especially when we have had to deal with and overcome every aspect of hate that now exists in the world: slavery, segregation, lynching, social and educational injustice and the corporate sexism that is being exposed in workplaces and in Hollywood.

It hurts my heart that everyone knows all the anti-Blackness we’ve faced in this country at the hands of our oppressors. Black was “the other.” We were called deviants and criminals. Some even used religion to justify racism. They denied us access to water fountains, bathrooms and front doors. You would think the Black community, with so much insight on what it truly feels like to be hated, murdered and discriminated against for just being one’s true self, would show empathy for members of the Black LGBTQ community.