Transgender Black Women Talk Global Liberation

On this episode of Black Diplomats we’re talking to three Transgender Black Women in three different countries about what liberation looks like for them. There is more transgender representation in media and politics than ever before, but transgender people still have to deal with hate and misgendering. Host Terrell J. Starr brings together a brilliant panel of activists from the US, Nigeria, and South Africa to fill us in on where the movement stands today, what it means for their fight to be connected on a global scale, and the true sound of freedom for Transgender Black Women everywhere.

Our guests include Diamond Stylz in Houston, Texas, Executive Director of Black Trans Women Inc., a national non-profit that is led by Black trans women focused on social advocacy, positive visibility and building strong leadership among Black trans advocates, activists, and our allies.

We also have Audrey Mbugua, a Kenyan activist who heads Transgender Education and Advocacy (TEA), an organization that defends the rights of transgender individuals in Kenya. In 2014, Mbugua won a landmark case, wherein the Kenya National Examinations Council was ordered to legally change Mbugua’s name and remove the existing gender designation on her academic certificates.

Rounding out our brilliant panel is Ricki Kgositau, an openly identified transwoman from Botswana who lives in Cape Town, South Africa. She is Executive Director to an International NGO known as Accountability International, which has a global team in Belgium, Kenya, Sweden (where it was founded and registered) and South Africa (where she is based in the Cape Town office).