Charli XCX urges LGBTQ fanbase to support the Black trans community

Charli XCX has called on her LGBTQ+ fanbase to support the Black transgender community during Pride Month, following mass protests against police brutality and the treatment of black people.

The global music industry has responded to the ongoing Black Lives Matter protests throughout America, demanding accountability and demilitarization of the police.

“Pride Month is a moment to seize, to fly the flag and give back to the community… We must give back, recognize and acknowledge the Black Trans community in particular," the how i'm feeling now singer wrote on social media yesterday.

"Let's come together and make a mass effort to support a mass section of the LGBTQ+ community that is more often than not unheard, repressed and violated. Black Trans Rights matter. Let's amplify that message," she added. "This is something we should be doing EVERY June, every day, in fact."

The post comes after a disturbing video circulated over social media featuring the violent attack of Black Trans woman Iyanna Dior by a mob of cisgender men on Monday. The 21-year-old was viciously beaten in a Minneapolis gas station.

The beating of Dior comes on the tail end of the fatal police shooting of Tony McDade, a 38-year-old black trans man in Tallahassee, Florida, which has sparked protests among the LGBTQ community.

The murder of 28-year-old Nina Pop in Missouri also took place early last month. Both McDade and Pop were misgendered by police departments when they released information on their murders.

According to the Human Rights Campaign, at least 26 transgender or gender non-conforming people were violently killed in 2019 alone - the vast majority being black transgender women.

Charli also highlighted a number of worthwhile causes in the post, such as the Black Trans Protestors Emergency Fund which will be used to supply protestors with resources, medical care and bail.

Also featured were the Nina Pop Mental Health Recovery Fund and the Tony McDale Mental Health Recovery Fund, each set up in the name of two Black transgender people who recently lost their lives to police brutality.

Funding therapy sessions with a licensed Black therapist free of cost is a core goal of these mental health charities.

Singer-songwriter Charli also helped create a The Show Must Be Paused educational document full of the historic and contemporary context of systemic racism alongside reading and watching material.

Last month she released her fourth studio album, how i’m feeling now, showcasing her experimental pop created in her home studio during the coronavirus lockdown.

Read Charli’s full statement below:

TO MY LGBTQ+ FAN BASE: NOW IS THE TIME FOR MASS ACTION. PLEASE READ THIS. #blacktranslivesmatter #NinaPop #TonyMcDade @BTFAcollective @TheOkraProject @4THEGWORLS @BlkTransTravel full swipe up links as per my post on my Instagram. link to donate to the @BTFAcollective in bio pic.twitter.com/XAVJ1sN5P3

— Charli (@charli_xcx) June 3, 2020