MLK Day Replay: A New Black Trans Civil Rights Agenda

Episode Description

In this episode replay from 2022, Imara discusses how the idea of Black civil rights has been reduced to the idea of changes in specific laws. But the civil rights movement also included the ideas of what we now call Black liberation: a specific revisioning of what our society should look like steeped in racial justice. Consequently we can see that the civil rights movement never totally succeeded and has a tremendous amount of unfinished business that we live out every single day. 

That’s why we wanted to talk with Black trans leaders about what a new agenda for Black civil rights should look like. Our first guest, Qween Jean, is the founder of Black Trans Liberation. She’s an activist and artist who’s critical work centers Black trans people in the fight for racial equity. Then Imara talks to Kayla Gore, the co-founder of My Sistah’s House, a fully fledged aid and advocate organization that started as an emergency shelter with 8 beds.