Transgender Community in New Orleans Fights Police Harassment
by Jordan Flaherty
http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2010/flaherty200410.htmlor
http://www.truthout.org/transgender-community-new-orleans-claims-police-harassment58844 New Orleans' Black and transgender community members and advocates complain of rampant and systemic harassment and discrimination from the city's police force, including sexual violence and arrest without cause. Activists hope that public outrage at recent revelations of widespread police violence and corruption offer an opportunity to make changes in police behavior and practice.
On a recent weekday evening, a group of transgender women met in the Midcity offices of Brotherhood Incorporated, an organization that provides healthcare and fights the spread of HIV and AIDS in low-income Black communities. When the conversation turned to the police, the mood in the room turned to outrage, as each woman had a story of harassment and abuse. Tyra Fields, a health worker who facilitates the meeting, told a story of being arrested without cause one night as she walked into a gay bar. "They never give us a reason they are arresting us," she says, explaining that being Black and transgendered is often enough reason for arrest, generally on prostitution-related charges.
