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Black Trans Lives Matter!

Meme Creator: Dean Steed daughterofzami.

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An original photo taken by me, at a protest demonstration in Ferguson, during the National Weekend of Resistance in October of 2014. 

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An original image of my friends and I, after be escorted out of the East Point City Council Meeting for protesting the violence of the East Point Police Department against Black Trans people. Written by: Dean Steed

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A Statement from Atlanta Students and Youth Activists in Solidarity with Ferguson.

On Monday, December 1st, 2014, individuals around the country walked out of their schools and places of work in solidarity with Ferguson and other communities across the country that have been affected and inflicted by police violence. We felt it a necessity to abandon the same oppressive institutions that have chosen, both now and historically, to abandoned us.

We, the students of six institutions inside and outside of Atlanta - Morehouse and Spelman College, Clark Atlanta University, Emory University, Kennesaw State University, and Georgia State University — have joined together to answer Ferguson’s call for non-violent, radical resistance.

We, the students, individuals, and community members, and just plain folk in Atlanta believe that the time has come to openly call for action and radical change in the way our systems are operating in this country and blatantly disregarding the lives of Black, Brown, Undocumented, Queer, and Trans* bodies. This is not just a problem at the individual level, this problem is systemic in its existence and is continuously and harmfully affecting the safety and livelihoods and safety of a large number of individuals living in the U.S.

As students and youth activists, who are doing this work in the Atlanta area, we condemn the actions of the Atlanta Police Department for the violence that it has inflicted upon the lives of Black, Brown, Undocumented, Queer, and Trans people living in Atlanta. On Tuesday, November 25, in downtown Atlanta, thousands of people gathered in non-violent opposition to the Ferguson, Missouri, grand jury’s decision. In response to the protest, the state of Georgia deployed hundreds of officers in riot gear, armed with batons, riot shields, and large rifles. Innocent people engaged in nonviolent protest, were brutalized by the police in the streets, beaten with batons, and nearly forty people were unjustly arrested. Atlanta and it’s surrounding cities are not exempt from police and state violence. The Atlanta, Cobb County, and Union City Police Departments are responsible for the murders of 92-year-old Kathryn Johnson, 19-year-old Ariston Waiters, and 18-year-old Tendai Nhekairo. Black, Brown, Undocumented, Queer, and Trans people living in Atlanta and it’s surrounding cities continue to be brutalized, murdered, unlawfully arrested and targeted by the state. We, the students of Atlanta, regard the actions as of the police against Black and Brown people here, in Ferguson, and across the country as a violation of human rights and believe it is necessary to put an end to police murder and brutality, everywhere! Written by: Dean Steed

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"Stop Telling Women To Smile" in Atlanta (@ stoptellingwomentosmile) Artist: Tatyana Fahzlalizadeh Model: Dean Steed

I participated in this project last year. Stop Telling Women to Smile is an art series by Tatyana Fazlalizadeh. The work attempts to address gender based street harassment by placing drawn portraits of women, composed with captions that speak directly to offenders, outside in public spaces.  The word above reflect my experience with street harassment as a gender-nonconforming, masculine-presenting, lesbian Black woman. 

Written by: Dean Steed

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Being Black, Lesbian, & Political

I question my commitment to my politics as a Lesbian, not when I am asked to love other Lesbian women, but when I am asked to love non-lesbian women. As a lesbian, does my love for women end at what is sexual or what is romantic? How can I walk through the world as a lesbian and be unconcerned with the suffering and issues of non-lesbian women. How can I walk through the world unconcerned with the rising rates of HIV among heterosexual Black women. How could  I have walked through the world unconcerned with the shackling of pregnant Black women in prisons? How can I ignore that Black women are being incarcerated at rates disproportionate to other women? How can I not care for the well-being of non-lesbian Black women who are dependent on the welfare of the state? As a lesbian, my politics, are centered in and committed to the loving of ALL women. As Audre writes, 

"…the true feminist deals out of a lesbian consciousness whether or not she ever sleeps with women." - Audre Lorde

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A Black Queer Feminist Perspective on Same-Sex Marriage

I, as a Black lesbian woman, will NOT stand on the front lines of a White-led, Gay-male-driven movement for same-sex marriage which ignores the concerns and issues effecting Black queer and trans people. The current movement for same-sex marriage central aim is to secure for White gay men and women the same privilege of White heterosexual men and women. I see little to no place for me in this movement. But I would gladly join in a coalition among African Americans across sexual preference and orientation, in a movement that addresses real issues effecting Black families, relationships and marriage, such as the prison industrial complex, the high incarceration of Black men, the growing incarceration of Black women, the underemployment of our people and poverty.

Historically African Americans have shown that we are capable of adapting to meet our needs. The practice of extended family and kinship that resulted from a slavery system which forcefully separated parents from their children, sisters from their brothers, and wives from their husbands. We embraced other-mothers, play cousins, sisters shared houses and raised their children together, men took on the responsibility of fathering children of other men who were absent. With that being said, I would be willing to join a coalition and movement that sought to redefine and broaden definitions of FAMILY to create a healthier family environment, embracing the ideas of communal-ism, extended kinship, and the African wisdom that asserts, “It takes a village….”

We must do this in a way that address the true needs of the Black community and family and become cautious of being used as instruments in a White-led movement. African American gays and lesbians have joined in the front lines of the LGBTQ movement for same-sex marriage, while remaining highly ignorant, passive, and indifferent, to issues of Black unemployment, Black healthcare disparities, Black imprisonment. All which are issues that effect Black lesbians and gays and have a significant influence on our ability to marry as both non-heterosexual people of color and heterosexual people of color. Written by: Dean Steed

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"Black Lesbians are not apolitical. We have been a part of every freedom struggle within this country." - Audre Lorde

On Wednesday evening, October 22, myself and 5 other WARRIOR QUEENS with our warrior brother, took a stand for Black Lives on the I-75 interstate of Downtown Atlanta. From Ferguson to Atlanta, young Black women are standing on the front lines and continuing the radical legacy of ancestors:

From the Amazon legions of Dahomey through the Ashanti warrior queen Yaa Asantewaa. From the freedom fighter Harriet Tubman to anti-lynching crusader, Ida B Wells. From Ella Baker, Fannie Lou Hamer, and Septima Clark to Assata Shakur, Kathleen Clever, and Angela Davis.

"It is our duty to fight for our freedom. It is our duty to win. We must love and protect each other. We have nothing to lose but our chains.” - Assata Shakur

For more info about the action, READ: http://southernersonnewground.org/2014/10/black-lives-matter-everywhere/ Watch Mary Hooks (lead organizer) in an interview with Channel 2 news as the action was happening: http://www.wsbtv.com/videos/news/protestors-block-traffic-on-downtown-connector/vCyRJ5/

For more news and photos: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/2727e49ace774717944330beac8f86a8/protest-against-police-brutality-blocks-ga-freeway http://www.ajc.com/news/news/protesters-block-i-75/nhqCY/?icmp=ajc_internallink_textlink_homepage Written by: Dean Steed 

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On Monday, January 19, 2015, We, werqatl and the Black queer community of Atlanta marched under the banner of ‪#‎ReclaimHERDream‬ to RECLAIM the radical legacy of ALL Black women in the Civil Rights Movement. After the march, we disrupted the rally to hold memorial/mock funeral service for ALL Black women, cis and trans, queer and straight.

Brief of the opening statement: "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today because Black women are DYING and we need to begin fighting for the freedom and safety our BLACK WOMEN with the same URGENCY that we hold for our Black men.  - werqatl

W.E.R.Q (Working to Elevate Radical Queer & Trans Leadership)  responded to a national call from Ferguson to #ReclaimMLK. In doing this work, we wanted to place Dr. King within a larger movement of Black working class women (cis and trans, queer and straight), who with Dr.King, risked their lives on the frontlines of the Civil Rights Movement, only to be relegated to the sidelines of history. We marched for Harriet, Ida B., Ella Baker, Fannie Lou Hamer, Septima Clark, Pauli Murray, Audre Lorde, June Jordan, Diane Nash, the Four Little Girls, the women of SNCC, SCLC, CORE, and the other countless and nameless women and girls who lives did not MATTER in the making of history. Because we believe #BlackWomenMatter! We marched for Kathryn Johnson, Kim Jones, Sakia Gunn, Mia Henderson, Islan Nettles, Renisha McBride, Marissa Alexander, Rekia Boyd, Islan Nettles, Yaz’min Shancez, Tiffany Edwards, Aiyanna Jones, Yvette Smith, Tarika Wilson, Tyisha Miller, our mamas, our sisters, our grandmamas, you, and so many others. Black women are MORE than the mothers and sisters of Black men who are murdered by the police. We are beaten, terrorized, raped, choked, shot, and murdered. Black women are MORE than the daughters and lovers of revolutionary Black men. We are the revolutionaries! We are freedom fighters, we are activists, we are organizers and we have stood on the front lines of every movement for freedom in this country! We will not remain on the margins of your headlines or your movement. We will fight for Black Women! Because in the words of June Jordan: "We are the ones we’ve been waiting for." For more info: Tumblr: werqatl Twitter: WerqATL Email: WerqATL@gmail.com Follow some of WERQ’s members on Tumblr: queerasiwannabe daughterofzami resilient22

Written by: Dean Steed

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An original meme created to highlight the murder of Black women and girls by the police and the case of Aiyana Jones by police officer, Joseph Weekly. Creator: Dean Steed

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A podcast explaining the marginalization of all Black women and Black girls, who are cis-genedered and trans, queer and straight, in the Black Lives Matter movement.

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As Black lesbian women We are the daughters of Black fathers The mothers of Black sons And the sisters of Black brothers. Therefore, we stand on the front lines and all sides of Black liberation movements. Simply, because we are not lovers of Black men, does not mean that we are against them.

Dean Steed,

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Response to Dana Hull’s, Blogging Between The Lines A4 -Part 1

Dana Hull’s “Blogging Between the Lines” invites readers to think about the challenges faced and opportunities created in the fast-paced world of blogging. The evolution of the blogosphere has transformed the world of mainstream writing. Blogging gives writers an alternative to the conventional methods of journalism and writing. Bloggers are allowed to be “opinionated” and “snarky” as opposed to objective and conventional. In fact, Morning News Editorial Page Editor Keven Ann Willey encourages bloggers to be “breezy,” brief and informal, and conversational in tone. Dana Hull reminds readers that while the “spontaneous, rapid-fire pace” of the blogosphere may have writers rushing to their laptops to share their opinions on the latest happenings in mainstream media, we must be mindful of the risk. For our class assignment I chose Tumblr, a relatively new blog site, founded in 2007. What distinguishes Tumblr from other free blogging sites is the “reblog” feature. The “reblog” feature allows users to share and post the content of others onto their own site. Because of this feature, Tumblr users frequently share the writings, links, and images of others onto their own site. In “Blogging Between the Lines,” Dana Hull asks, “How should papers handle links to other Web sites and blogs?” Professional journalists have to exercise caution when linking other web sites and blogs onto the paper’s blog  because of how the content may reflect on the newspaper credibility and reputation. As Dana Hull notes, linking the work of another blog or website could appear to be an endorsement of the blogger or blog. Before reading Hull’s article, I did not consider the implications of linking the content of other bloggers on my own site. Often, I come across an individual blog post that I support or find interesting and share it onto my own site, without further investigation of the blogger’s beliefs, politics, content or character of the blog. I could be unknowingly endorsing the work of bloggers whose contents are harmful to my personal values and beliefs. Hull, also, reminds readers to think about time management. She describes the addictive nature of the blogosphere as bloggers begin to encounter “instant feedback.” Similar to social networks, like Facebook and Twitter, where users receive instant comments or replies to statuses, updates, and posts, Tumblr users can reply instantly to blog posts. I will have to be mindful about how I manage my time between postings and responding. While I want to engage my readers and respond quickly to questions and comments, I must create a balance among my different responsibilities as a writer on and off line.

Hull, D. (2006). Blogging between the lines. American Journalism Review, 28(6), 62-67.