'I just feel so free.' Detroit event helps support, celebrate Black trans women

Wendi Cooper is from Louisiana and she’s one of about 30 transgender women spending three days at a hotel in downtown Detroit taking part in “Black Trans Circles Detroit.”

"Here I just feel so free," said Wendi.

It's a convening of Black transgender women, bonding through activities like taking professional head shots, getting glammed up, and on a deeper level opening up about their trauma.

"In 1999, I just started my transition, I was embracing Wendi and I was stopped by an officer. When I was stopped by the officer I thought he was attracted to Wendi," she said.

For Wendi, that trauma is being charged with “crime against nature” by that officer who stopped her.

Crime against nature is a Louisiana law that makes it illegal to engage in what is referred to as sexual offenses that are deemed as unnatural or contrary to the order of nature. That charge — that conversation — would label her as a sex offender.

"Do you feel that he pulled you over and was baiting you with this language?" I asked.

"Yes he did ... and when I think about it I am very angry, because I feel like I am a person who has a felony conviction and I’m unable to do things," said Wendi.

Unfortunately Wendi’s story of discrimination is one that many transgender women here at Black Trans Circles Detroit can relate to.

According to the national LGBTQ task force, Black transgender people experience some of the highest levels of discrimination.

GenderGP finds that Black trans people are subject to extremely high unemployment rates, twice as high as other trans people, and four times the rate of the general U.S. population.

"We’re trying to change the narrative, because we know all the bad ones that are out," said Jeynce Poindexter, co-executive director of Trans Sistas of Color Project.

These disadvantages fueled Jeynce to host this 3-day event with the transgender law firm.

"We’re here in love, we’re here in sisterhood!" said Jeynce.

They’re holding the event during Black pride.

The rooms, food, and activities are paid for for each of these women — pampering them with the purpose to propel them forward.

"Usually trans women of color, particularly Black trans women, they’re in survival mode and so when someone else would take it for granted and say, ‘oh, go get a job,’ well how do you do that when you have barriers built into the internal workings of the systems to keep you out?" said Jeynce.

On day three of the event, now all glammed up, and finishing her headshots, Wendi tells me she’s forgiven the cop who altered her future in 1999.

Since then, she’s earned her masters in criminal justice, she’s helped create a Black trans documentary, she’s found healing through action, and events just like this.

"I feel seen ,ya know, I feel that I’m in a world right now where people are noticing me, people are noticing Wendi," she said.

If you’d like to learn more about the Trans Sistas of Color Project, click here.

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