Art collective supports black trans lives
A collective of Houston artists is raising awareness about the intersection of the black trans community and the Black Lives Matter movement. And it’s kicking off with a bit of fashion.
The Next Generation Project, an organization dedicated to providing self-care and mental health resources to black and brown transgender and nonbinary people, is taking preorders for a Black Trans Lives Matter T-shirt. The shirt comes in four colors and features a hand with fingernails painted in the colors of the Trans Pride flag. The $28.69 price tag is a tribute to the date activist Marsha P. Johnson threw the first brick at the Stonewall Riots.
All proceeds from the shirts will fuel Next Gen’s mission of providing resources to black and brown trans and nonbinary people. A scholarship is in the works, along with #TNGTuesdays, a social media campaign to provide financial relief to those communities.
Next Gen founding member Sis, an actress and activist, says the idea for the shirts was born out of a conversation during a Houston protest.
“My friend was having a difficult time understanding why there was a need to shout ‘black trans lives matter’ at a Black Lives Matter protest. Well, it matters because the majority of trans women murdered in America have been black. This fight is for us all. My life is a black trans life, and it matters. I want to make sure that we are not left out of the fight for equality,” Sis says. “These shirts should be worn at protests, at the mall and even to the grocery store. Their intent is to be conversation starters.”
Sis caught the performance bug as a kid and studied musical theater at Sam Houston State University. Sis performed with TUTS, Alley Theatre and Stages before moving to New York City, starring in “Freestyle Love Supreme” on Broadway and winning HBO’s Digital Amateur Night Contest and performing at the Apollo Theater. The coronavirus pandemic recently brought Sis home to Houston.
“I want to change the narrative for black trans women. Did you know the average life expectancy for trans women is 35 years old? It makes no sense why death should be the penalty for living our truth,” Sis says. “I want to educate my black brothers and sisters so that they know that our trans brothers and sisters need our help, too. My mission in life has always been to franchise the disenfranchised and to demarginalize the marginalized.”
For T-shirt details, visit instagram.com/wearetngproject.