On August 28, 2020, the Caribbean Equality project and National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance marched in the 57th anniversary of the historical March on Washington, where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech.
march on washington
Date: August 28, 2020
Venue: Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C.
Organization: Caribbean Equality project and National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance
57 years ago, Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., A. Philip Randolph, and Bayard Rustin organized a historic rally at the capital of the United States, a March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Through their leadership and the solidarity of the United Auto Workers, the movement for Black Liberation began a new chapter of visibility and hope. 63 years, later, the call for justice, equity, and liberation of Black people once again came to the Lincoln Memorial, where tens of thousands of people gathered to call for an end to the white supremacist violence so characteristic of this country. An end to police violence. To militarized violence. To vigilante violence. To economically oppressive violence. To discursive violence. We at Caribbean Equality Project are energized by the powerful work happening all across this country even as we continue to work towards the liberation of Black people in our local Caribbean community. Being a part of this moment--of this movement--is the honor of a lifetime and one that we don't take lightly. It's also important to acknowledge how much HAS changed since 1963.
This movement is still a movement for voting rights and economic justice. It is also a movement for Black immigrants and for Black sex workers and for Black Trans people and for Black queer people.
Our leaders and volunteers were energized beyond measure to be standing in solidarity with organizations from all over the country (including National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA), KQT DC, Khush DC, AQUA DC, Q-Wave, and API Rainbow Parents of PFLAG NYC), defending a more complex and complete Black liberation movement in the era of Black Lives Matter, as we stand with the families of George Floyd and of Breonna Taylor and of Elijah McClain and too many other names. Unfortunately, we also saw how easily that complexity was erased at the March.
Despite rainbow PRIDE and Trans and bisexual flags abounding, the leadership of this 57th Annual March on Washington failed to meaningfully recognize the plight of Black LGBT people in the movement, seemingly frozen in 1963's understanding of Blackness and Black issues. Missing from the anniversary commemoration of the 1963 March on Washington were the many families and acknowledgment of Black Trans lives lost to transphobia, gun violence, intimate partner violence, and the intersectionality of systematic racism and police violence. These intersectionality claimed the lives of Tony Mcdade, Layleen Polanco, Brayla Stone, Merci Mack, Shaki Peters, Draya McCarty, Tatiana Hall, Bree Black, and 13 other trans people of color murdered in 2020.
Sadly, this type of erasure is not new and it perpetuates the unique harms that Black LGBTQ+ folx continue to face throughout this country. This is not consistent with the type of Black advocacy that we see every day in New York. This doesn’t reflect the Black liberation organizing that we know in New York. This doesn’t reflect the Black leadership that we’ve seen in New York.
This is not a critique of the amazing work done in Black liberation. This is a critique on the type of organizing that we witnessed at this march and that this kind of erasure is out of step with the movement as it exists locally elsewhere. We know that Black trans power and intersectional frameworks are the fuel for much of the work being done at the community level.
We want to affirm the work and passion and commitment that the leaders and advocates behind Friday's event demonstrated. We also want to hold every organizer and activist accountable, for a commitment to recognizing that ALL BLACK LIVES MATTER, and ALL Black issues are of great concern and importance. We are so proud that our local activism for the Black community looks like the type of work that we would have wanted to see reflected on the national level.
**This statement reflects the lived, physical shared experience of the LGBTQ, TGNC & Trans Community members of the Caribbean Equality Project, who attended the 57th March On Washington in the nation’s capital. While CEP does acknowledge the presence of a member of the LGBTQ community during the online broadcast of this historic event, we do believe at this time that the words herein are valid for the improvement of the March, going forward in the years to come.**
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