The only way to save QTIBIPOC history is to write it ourselves. It must take up space in the archives, the history books, the art gallery walls and museum cabinets.
The only way to control what’s said about us, is to say it ourselves. We must reclaim the power to write QTIBIPOC history from the media, the psychiatrists, the racists and the legal systems that criminalise us, incarcerate us and even kill us.
Because QTIBIPOC trans, non-binary and intersex lives are not only about oppression, hate and violence. The vibrancy, complexity and richness of living beyond the fixed colonial binaries are the inspiration we can leave for future generations.
We must record this momentous rise in visibility and this immensely important moment in black history through the trans lens, not the cisgender gaze.
We must decolonise trans, non-binary and intersex history by saving our stories in our own voices: handwritten and uncensored.
You are the curator of your transcestry. Future generations will thank you for changing the way black trans history is remembered, forever.
Portrait of Munroe Bergdorf at Sutton House by Sarah Moore
‘...All of the portraits were of Munroe in and around a National Trust Tudor house in Hackney. We were proud to feature a trans woman of colour captured by a non-binary hard femme as the face of our year-long ‘Sutton House Queered’ programme of exhibitions and events.’
‘An intersectional approach recognises multiple identities exist in multiple combinations... It means being proactive in learning more about people with intersecting identities from the people who face oppression associated with those identities. It means understanding, respecting and celebrating the diversity of our communities.’
Sabah Choudrey, Inclusivity: Supporting BAME Trans People, GIRES.
Travis’ black dress (second from left)
OBJECT NUMBER MOT000052
‘...this wasn’t the first dress I ever wore but it was the first dress that I put on and thought.... “oh my god, I look good. I look like, me”. I truly felt, if possible, like my gender.’
Gold handbag (in front of Travis’ black dress)
OBJECT NUMBER MOT000072
‘This is my first good bag it went with me on every night for over 2 years. It did not hear the abuse in the streets; it did not see the attack. It just felt my joy as I danced and lived for the first time.’
Floral bra (between dresses to the left)
‘My uniform for spreading the potent love; part of being a female tranny warrior, giving the message of embracing love for every gender and spreading acceptance. A celebration of sensuality & the inner beauty of the self + female form. Created for ‘PSYCHEDELIC QUEERS’’.
OBJECT NUMBER MOT000049
all of these objects currently live in The Bishopsgate Institute.