Black Trans in the Americas
Creating a living archive of Black trans stories
How can an archive best represent the stories of Black trans individuals—one that connects diverse communities of Black trans thinkers, activists, and creatives? Black Trans in the Americas (BTiA) is creating a living archive across large geographic spaces through the medium of film and other creative expressions. A Humanities Without Walls Grand Research Project (GRC)-funded project, BTiA aims to share the “network and archive of community-based interviews, oral histories, films, and other creative outputs built by and for Black trans communities” across North and South America. This project is a collaboration between Northwestern University, the University of Chicago, and the community-based organization, Open Television.
Dr. AJ Christian, associate professor of Communication Studies at Northwestern University, a community-based researcher and the project’s PI shared how the project came about. According to Christian, everyone involved is “interested in solidarity right across geographic lines.” That solidarity across lines does not end with geography. As Christian described, members of the community-based project are interested in “understanding the experiences of Black trans people across various contexts." He added, "There was a desire to see if in those conversations, in that storytelling, people would get a firmer sense of who they are and where they are and what is possible in their lives.”
Sharing these stories is imperative given the exigency of the moment—the “urgent need for explicit attention to Black trans lived experience, in the face of increased transphobic violence and anti-trans legislation across geographies,” according to æryka jourdaine hollis o'neil, a PhD and MFA candidate at Northwestern and a graduate student partner on the project. Other project members include Dr. C. Riley Snorton, a cultural theorist and professor of English and Gender and Sexuality at the University of Chicago; Makina Moses, a rootworker, educator, writer, and doctoral student at the University of Chicago; Dr. Syrus Ware, a scholar, visual artist, and educator; and Ravyn Wngz, a Toronto-based artist and storyteller who does research-based work reviving “trans elders and ancestors from history and bringing them back to life through performance.”
While there is urgency and significance to the archive’s mission, the collective partners understand that there are multiple pathways to growing a global network of Black trans activists and storytellers. The BTiA project sees itself as one path out of many in telling the stories of Black trans people. As Christian described it, “This network is a network of networks, right? And we can be one, not THE, but one hub for so many of these other networks and there's ways that people are trying to build power in their communities in their specific places.”
The BTiA project existed before receiving a GRC grant, but the Humanities Without Walls funding has furthered the project’s ability to expand and map out its future beyond the period of grant funding. This expansion includes launching a new website by the end of the year and a gathering during the summer of 2024 in Toronto of key stakeholders and local Black trans activists. During this week-long meeting, collaborative partners will sketch out what they want the future of BTiA to look like from their varied perspectives and backgrounds. Throughout the duration of the multi-year project, they will be filming many of their conversations to be a part of the multimedia archive.
While navigating labyrinthian university bureaucracy has challenged and delayed the team’s ability to fund itself and redistribute funds to community partners, ultimately the GRC grant has contributed to the longevity of the archive and BTiA. According to Christian, “I think this [project] will live on and become a vehicle for supporting Black trans storytellers around the world for many years to come.”
By Heather Ennis
Published on April 29, 2024