Nearly 100 people gathered to dedicate the ‘All Black Lives Matter’ mural, Oakland’s largest, near the Lake Merritt Boating Center at 568 Bellevue Ave. on June 28.

    The ‘All Black Lives Matter’ mural, focusing on the LGBTQ community, was conceived by Kin Folkz of Spectrum Queer Media and co-designed by Kin Folkz also of QueerArtsCenter.com with Guerrilla Davis, WeAreTheOnes, and Janetta Johnson, TGIJP (Transgender Gender-Variant Intersex Justice Project). 

     Work on the mural, which is painted on the street itself, started in June and was painted by 14 muralists, a graphic designer and more than 250 volunteers.

The multicolored mural reads:  “ALL BLACK TRANS + QUEER + NONBINARY +WOMAN + DISABLED + IMPRISONED LIVES MATTER.” 

     At the dedication, organizers used soil, seeds and crystals to “ . . . bring equity to us in our struggle for an end of oppression based upon our marginalized Black identities,” Kin Folkz said.

    In May, Tony McDade was killed by police in Tallahassee, Fla., and Nina Pop who was stabbed to death in Sikestown, Missouri, were two of the many Black transgender people who lost their lives to law enforcement and/or racist and trans-phobic people. 

     There is an online All Black Lives Matter Solidarity Statement (https://bit.ly/ALLBLMMuralSolidarityStatement), which people can sign:

     “We, Black Trans, Queer, Gender Nonconforming, Disabled, +Previously Incarcerated+Currently Imprisoned+Undocumented beings have been targeted for deep oppression.  WE are calling for an end to the silencing of our experiences and the deep devaluing of our lives in ALL communities.

     Hate speech, discrimination, and violence caused by government institutions (like the Department of Justice) enforce dominant systems of oppression that are used with deadly force against Black beings. Too often the lives of deeply marginalized Black people are ignored – particularly Black Trans Women; Black Femmes of all genders; Black Gender Nonconforming folks; Black Queer folks; Black Disabled folks; Black Undocumented beings; Black imprisoned folks and all Black folks living within these intersections.

    “We are unapologetically Black in our positioning. In affirming that Black Lives Matter, we need not qualify our position. To love and desire freedom and justice for ourselves is a prerequisite for wanting the same for others… We affirm the lives of Black queer and trans folks, disabled folks, undocumented folks, folks with records, women, and all Black lives along the gender spectrum. Our network centers those who have been marginalized within Black liberation movements.” BLM (https://blacklivesmatter.com/)

    “We ask that the undersigned agree to elevate and value the lives ALL BLACK PEOPLE Black Trans Women; Black Femmes of all genders; Black Gender Nonconforming folks; Black Queer folks; Black Disabled folks; and Black Previously Incarcerated + Currently Imprisoned beings. We ask that they shift their actions and encourage others to use their privilege as opportunities to promote legislation and practices that:

1 – PRIORITIZE OUR LEADERSHIP + COMPENSATE US
2 – RECOGNIZE OUR NAMES AND GENDERS
3 – TAKE ACCOUNTABILITY + PRESS FOR JUSTICE for OUR LIVES
4 – HONOR OUR LEGACIES
5 – SHELTER US
6 – REDISTRIBUTE POLICE FUNDS TO FUND OUR GRASSROOTS ORGS + COMMUNITIES
7 – END SOLITARY CONFINEMENT
8 – ABOLISH THE PRISON INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX
9 – END THE CRIMINALIZATION OF BLACK SELF DEFENSE
10 – EDUCATE + MAINTAIN THE PRACTICE of UPENDING MISOGYNY, TRANSPHOBIA + CLASSISM targeting Black beings.

– Adapted from TGIJP (http://www.tgijp.org/) + Transgender Law Center (TLC) https://transgenderlawcenter.org/

This is a time to affirm that #ALLBlackLivesMatter. Inaction and silence is not the solution. This is a time to join in the struggle to dismantle systemic oppression that targets Black people of all genders – particularly Black Trans Women; Black Femmes of all genders; Black Gender Nonconforming folks; Black Queer folks; Black Disabled folks; and Black imprisoned folks. This is a time to elevate and amplify ALL Black voices in our unified demand for justice. This is a time for action. The time for justice is now.”

Kiki

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