An estimated 15-26 million people took to the streets this summer in what became the largest wave of protest in U.S. history. Amid the twin pandemics of COVID-19 and racism, and sparked by the police killings of Tony McDade, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and Rayshard Brooks, millions are looking closely—many for the first time—at the plague of state-sanctioned violence that has terrorized and defined our communities for centuries. At a time of great potential for transformational change, neglecting to center trans, nonbinary, and intersex knowledge, experiences, and liberation is a choice that limits that change.
"If we want an intersectional perspective, the trans community is showing us the way. The trans community has taught us to challenge that which is perceived to be normal. If we can challenge the gender binary, we can challenge prisons." - Dr. Angela Davis
The Midwest Institute for Sexuality and Gender Diversity and the University of Minnesota Duluth's Sexuality & Gender Equity Initiative are collaborating on an upcoming virtual Transgender Justice Teach-in, "The Rise of a Trans Abolitionist Vision." The program brings together in conversation Justin Toliver and Artesha Saballos from Black Visions Collective, Dominique Morgan from Black and Pink, and Qui Alexander from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.
The teach-in, the fourth annual for UMND, is the first in a series of anticipated virtual programs the Institute will be offering during the pandemic and beyond. Registration costs are tiered, starting at $5 for queer, trans, Black, Indigenous, and people of color, $15 for queer and trans attendees, and $25 for aspiring accomplices.