When I was 13 I was riding the train between Sacramento and SF by myself, like I did every weekend from 12 years old on (divorced parents, it was the 90s, save your judgement Im fine.) I would always sit in the dining car to find someone to talk to. (Thread)
If I rode on Friday nights, all the other divorced kids would be aboard, too, and we had formed a pack - we’d find each other and take over the dining car with homework, sodas, jokes, drawings, stories. It would get rowdy, in a sweet way. (Maybe not to other passengers, dunno)
One time I went on a Saturday morning instead (I think to attend a school dance), and I sat in the dining car doing homework. It was quiet and kind of boring. A woman asked if she could share the table. I said yes, and she was friendly and started chatting.
Over the next hour I would learn the life story of this Black trans woman, how she had grown up, in her words “a shoeless poor boy in Southern Georgia” (a phrase I have never forgotten). Sitting in front of me was this self assured woman - the kind a 13 year old longs to be.
I remember even at that age realizing I was being given a gift. (I don’t remember breathing the entire time she was talking and I nearly missed my stop - I literally had to jump off a moving train at my station.)
She told her story completely matter of fact. But it was clear to me that her existence was a radical act - and it was also clear it might be a dangerous one. I wouldn’t learn until years later that the average life span of a trans woman of color is 36.
36.
36.
I think about this woman all the time. How she told her story to a complete stranger, and it changed how I saw the world forever. In about an hour. This woman taught me about how women could be in the world. She may have been the first real revolutionary I ever met.
Not everyone gets that moment on the train, but we can decide who gets the platforms.
It matters.
It matters.
Black trans women have been fighting for everyone’s rights and also for their lives. nytimes.com/2020/06/27/us/…
#BlackTransLivesMatter everyday. They have already left indelible marks on history and it’s imperative that we all work to ensure they can live long lives - to see the benefits of their revolution and witness their statues being raised.
Hey since this looks like it’s taking off maybe give some money to trinityplaceshelter.org
