Read the Transcendent Letter Eve Degbey-Gutierrez, a Black Trans Woman, Wrote to Her Younger Self
Eve Degbey-Gutierrez, a Black trans woman, pens a powerful, poignant letter to her younger self, addressing the current climate of the world.
In the wake of Pride Month and Black Lives Matter, Eve Degbey-Gutierrez pens a proud, passionate, and pain-laced letter to her younger self. Her letter addresses her personal growth and the challenges she continues to face living amid poisonous politics, power abuse, and prevailing prejudice.
Eve Degbey-Gutierrez writes to her younger self about her experience as a Black trans woman from Niger in the midst of a racial justice uprising. https://t.co/gTOonOAVi1
— Teen Vogue (@TeenVogue) June 20, 2020
The public expresses its outrage at the failure to address violence against Black women and Black trans women.
#BreonnaTaylor is no longer trending.
Why do we go silent when it comes to Black women ?!?!
Black women , and Black trans women are always sidelined YET always here to help y’all fight.
We have to do better .— Aurora Perrineau (@AuroraPerrineau) June 23, 2020
The 22-year-old shares refreshingly raw, resilient, and reflective words regarding her experience as a Black trans woman navigating a world often hostile towards members of both the Black and LGBTQ+ communities. Her letter celebrates her tumultuous journey towards self-acceptance and acknowledges the obstacles that endure, along with the people and politics that prevent her from peacefully existing.
Allies attempt to create awareness and educate others on the systems that contribute to transphobia.
Working with Black Trans Blessings to support them facilitating their first panel tmrw night 6.30EST Sasha from Black Trans Media will talk about the 4 I’s of oppression esp how power + media + narrative shift can impact our relationship to transphobia #blacktranseverything https://t.co/v60WjqmmzG
— BlackTransMedia (@BlackTransMedia) June 24, 2020
Degby-Gutierrez eloquently exclaims: “…I’m happy yet sorry at the same time to let you know that your life will often resemble the games you used to play during recess in middle school: unreal. But this time, the monsters you’ll be fighting will be very real, and you need to be prepared for that. They won’t throw fireballs; they’ll shoot bullets. They won’t teleport to your home to hurt you; they’ll take a squad car. They won’t cast a spell to trap you in hell; they’ll use an arrest warrant.”
Members of the Black and LGBTQ+ community demand to be heard.
Black trans people shouldn’t have to wait to be celebrated when we die, show us love when we can still see it.
— ✨ hashley simpson ✨ (@kimorablacface) June 22, 2020
By appealing to a naïve audience, her confused, wide-eyed younger self, her words are piercing and powerful. How do you explain to an innocent child that, due to arbitrary factors such as race and identity, she will be attacked and antagonized? How do you explain to an impressionable child that her future eerily resembles the whimsical games she plays; the dodging of danger and the outrunning of malicious monsters is her reality? But when she’s older, the monsters are much more dangerous?
People continue to express their outrage at social inequality and call for change.
y’all be like #AllLivesMatters but not black ppl, gays, any religion that’s not Christianity, women and trans ppl. Then y’all support the death penalty, throw up nazi signs, be pro war and anti gun control. PICK A STRUGGLE LMAO. anyways blm. pic.twitter.com/RzF3SFFga3
— 🌈 (@w_a_ftweets) June 23, 2020
We are in awe of Degby-Gutierrez’s bold, brave, and beautiful words. Her words come at a much needed time, a time where we need to be reminded of compassion and acceptance. We also need to remember the hurt and suffering that festers from an absence of them. We applaud Degby-Gutierrez’s grit and hope that people can read her words and champion all lives and condemn all abuse.
I am a plucky Sophomore at Wesleyan University with a passion for writing, fashion, running, and extremely strong coffee—so strong that it would make a 6’5’’ WWE wrestler weep. I am a small person with a big personality, only intensified by the coffee, that seeps into both my bold street and writing style. I am currently based in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area and am excited to work for such an empowering, female-focused publication. During this trying time in history it is more important than ever for women to continue lifting each other up and spreading positive energy!
