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On February 22, 2022, Texas governor Greg Abbott wrote an extraordinarily dangerous directive: for Family and Protective Services to investigate parents of transgender children for “child abuse.” This encourages doctors, teachers, and other caregivers to report trans children!
Black children will face the brunt of his decision, as always. But why?
When families provide gender-affirming care for their children, it’s not “abuse” – it’s love. And it’s not just trans kids and families who will suffer.
Black children are already over-policed, and now ANY child who expresses complex feelings about their gender could get caught up.
The majority of trans people killed in this country are Black. And Texas specifically makes up 10% of all murders of trans people nationwide.
Black trans Texans will now have an even MORE difficult future ahead of them – and this directive could rip them away from their families, a crucial support system.
Black trans youth have higher suicide, homelessness, and criminalization rates. And the foster care system, where Black kids may be sent if their parents are charged with “abuse,” is also a breeding ground for ACTUAL abuse.
Abbott's transphobic attack is an attack on the Black family. Low-income Black families with trans children will not be able to flee Texas, and parents may end up behind bars while their children are brutalized by the State. This cannot be our future!