Black Lives Matter. The lives of Black men matter. The lives of Black women matter. The lives of Black children matter. And the lives of a group that gets less attention in the national conversation also matter—the lives of Black Queer people matter. (I recognize that some may view the term “Queer” as pejorative, but I use that term here intentionally, as many in the Queer Community do, to embrace all who fall within the LGBTQ+ Community).

Time and again we have seen with our own eyes the scenes of Black men and boys being killed by police or vigilantes on video. George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Elijah McClain, Freddie Gray, Tamir Rice, and Philando Castille are just a few. We know of Black women killed in custody or at the hands of police—Breonna Taylor and Tanisha Anderson, for example. And it’s important to say and to remember their names. But what about the names that belong to those who were on the margins of straight, cisgender society and who faced increased risk of death and violence every day because their Blackness intersected with their identity as Queer? Even though they may not have all died in police custody or at the hands of the police, we need to know their names. And even though their deaths may not have been covered on the nightly news, they deserve to be part of the conversation.

Republished with permission. The full article, "All Black Lives Matter," was published by the Defense Research Institute's publication DRI Voices Volume 19, Issue 37 on September 16, 2020.