“In early May 2015, a group of cisgender and transgender Black womxn who live, work, play and struggle in Seattle decided to create an accessible space for mourning state violence and police brutality against our own. While it is our duty to fight for all Black lives, we envision a movement that prioritizes Black womxn and girls alongside Black men and boys. Our bodies are tired and our trauma is fresh; therefore, we propose convening a memorial honoring the lives of Black womxn impacted by and lost to state violence, an event free from competing with opportunistic white voices, harming our bodies and minds or risking arrest in the streets.

Our #BlackWomxnMatter memorial is a part of a national day of action to end state violence against Black womxn and girls. We will lift up the names and stories of womxn erased by patriarchy and respectability politics like Mya Hall, a transgender sex worker killed by police in Baltimore just a few weeks before the murder of Freddie Gray. We will also express our solidarity with Black womxn survivors of state violence in our own backyard and beyond, such as Miyekko “Koko” Durden-Bosley, whose eye socket was broken by a Seattle police officer last year. We hope the memorial serves as a space for not only grieving, but also community-building so we can begin the crucial work of transforming and dismantling institutions that make Seattle unsafe and unwelcoming for all Black womxn.”

(Cited From the Event Page
https://www.facebook.com/events/438134526350453/441526256011280/ )

This was a powerful, healing moment when the community came together both to grieve and set the agendas for our own futures.

Womxn are not only in the struggle, they are the vanguards in our struggle. These women are some of the most powerful, passionate, intelligent, wise and selfless people I have ever met.