2021 Executive Summary: The protection of Black trans life is important now more than ever
by Jaelynn Scott, she/her
Executive Director
In 2021, our greatest achievement was the investment in the leadership of our Black Trans Task Force. The task force is now the leadership council of the entire organization, composed of our staff’s majority who ensure the work is always rooted in the protection of Black life. Our team of community organizers, artists, and healers worked tirelessly to build a new model of nonprofit work, grounded in Black and trans praxis, centered on the liberation and protection of Black Trans femmes.
Towards the end of 2021 we saw the onslaught of a malicious, yet effective, campaign using the lives of trans youth and Black trans girls to win elections. We have seen this strategy before in the U.S. South: targeting of children in hopes of undermining movements towards civil rights and freedom. These aggressors have no regard for life. Let us be clear: they are coming for all trans people, all Black trans femmes, and ultimately all women of color.
We are a resilient people, and their plans will not succeed, but these next four years will result in hyper-visibility in our community. I am concerned that the collateral damage will be Black trans women and girls.
In 2021, we prepared ourselves to resist. Our resistance will not be just a fight, it will be ensuring that we thrive in the midst of this war on our bodies. Thriving means celebrating the wisdom and beauty of who we are and who we have been.
From the leadership of our Black trans staff, we have built the following infrastructure in 2021, three areas of impact to disrupt violence: Gender Based Violence Prevention, Economic and Housing Justice. We are building out the infrastructure for a safe, sanctuary city, county, and state for Black gender diverse people.
This year, we began planning bystander trainings for disrupting violence against trans people, building a network of community responders, and advocated with King County for trans housing justice. We continue our advocacy with the City of Seattle and the State of Washington for housing, safety, and wellness for our community.
We understand that the law will not lead to liberation in our community. However, there are basic protections and avenues for restorative justice. In light of this realization, we shifted our legal services to focus more on civil rights cases, keeping our sights on what might develop into impact litigation. We are developing a wrap-around care model that takes care of our clients while seeking reparations from harm through political influence and litigation.
We have grown our understanding of organizing to include direct services, especially because we are asking Black trans people to lead the work. We need our community to be fed, housed, and thriving in order to build a base of movement organizers that will assist in this work of liberation.
Here are some of our achievements in 2021 I would like to highlight:
Black Trans Thriving Platform for legislative change in the city of Seattle.
Participated in and won a push to shift 16 million dollars of jail funding in the city of Seattle to Black gender diverse people.
Worked closely with partners on the introduction and passage of HB5313
Served on roundtables with Rep. Pramila Jayapal and Adam Smith, lifting the anti-violence, economic, and housing needs of Black gender diverse persons.
Grew our legal services for the Black community.
Developed a new mission, vision, and inspirational logo.
Distributed $80,000 of mutual aide and rental assistance relief to Black trans and gender diverse persons.
In collaboration with other LGBTQ+ legal orgs, an Amicus Curiae brief for protection of trans kids
We still face the problems of operating a people-centered organization in the midst of a global pandemic, though there is hope that we can now operate more freely in 2022. Furthermore, we are beginning to see empathy fatigue in our supporters. We are still in a moment of resistance to political violence, and it is imperative that we continue to receive support from our community. We will not, as individuals or as an organization, give up on this work, not until we are no longer needed, and that won’t happen until this country and world is safe for Black gender diverse people. Our work in the future is to garner that same level of commitment from more in our community.