Black Trans Futures ft: West Dakota, Raquel Willis, Muhammed Fayaz, and Ceyenne Doroshow

On June 14, in the midst of the Black Lives Matter protests and the COVID 19 pandemic, more than 15,000 people gathered in front of the Brooklyn Museum in New York City to protest the violence, harassment, and discrimination faced by Black trans people in the United States. The Brooklyn Liberation march, the brainchild of drag queen West Dakota, turned out to be the largest event for Black trans rights in history. Last month, Alex Halberstadt spoke over Zoom to four people with key roles in the event: West Dakota, who tells us what nightlife and political organizing have in common; Mohammed Fayaz, whose images work as a call to community; Ceyenne Doroshow, who looks back with decades of perspective; and Raquel Willis, who gave one of the day’s most powerful speeches. He asked them to reflect on this historic event, how it fits into the larger struggle for equity and justice, and the future of Black trans people in this country.