On Sunday, Melissa Harris-Perry of MSNBC hosted a roundtable of panelists to discuss the growing issues that are affecting communities of color and LGBT communities of color, including the case of CeCe McDonald and the upcoming silent march to protest “Stop and Frisk.”
Mara Keisling of the National Transgender Center for Equality joined Harris-Perry to discuss CeCe McDonald and bring awareness to the systemic issues affecting transgender women in and out of prison Keisling points out that transgender women are 13 times more likely to be assaulted while incarcerated. Often, the transgender community is victimized by anti-trans hate violence, which has resulted in a growing number of transgender men and women feeling unsafe and experiencing disproportionate injustices holistically across the board.
Since CeCe was sentenced on June 4, 2012, there has been an outpour of community support. GLAAD is working wth The CeCe Support Committee, Trans Youth Support Network and Trans People of Color Coalition to continue to support CeCe’s case throughout her incarceration and continue to expand the national conversation about the injustices that transgender men and women are consistently confronted with.
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In a separate panel, panelists Rev. Al Sharpton of National Action Network and Alan Jenkins of Opportunity Agenda discussed the historic silent march to protest Stop and Frisk that will take place on Father’s Day, Sunday, June 17, 2012 at 3 pm. More information.
This historic march has brought together labor, faith, community and LGBT organizations who have become a growing coalition of more than 200 organizations that insist on policy reform of laws that enact racial profiling.
GLAAD is working with the NAACP, National Action Network, 1199 SEIU and several LGBT organizations to raise visibility about the effects of “Stop and Frisk” on LGBT youth and the transgender community—particularly trans women of color who are often dehumanized and criminalized within the legal system.
In 2011, Black and Latino men ages 14-24 accounted for over 40% of the “stop and frisks” that occurred. Each year since the law’s inception, only 0.5% of the stops actually result in confiscation of a gun. The problem has become a systemic danger. “We need to rise above the stereotypes, “says Alan Jenkins of Opportunity Agenda.
Harris-Perry’s show represented a growing need and a cultural conversation that needs to continue to take place, in particular for LGBT youth of color.
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