TransGriot Note:
This question was asked last year on another transgender list I'm on and this was my response.
If a transgender Martin Luther King existed, would the Caucasian transgender community let go of their racism, their zeal to hold on to white male privilege at any cost and their destructive co-dependent relationship with HRC to follow him?
If a transgender Martin Luther King existed, would they follow him (or her) or would they stab him/her in the back and work to undermine their leadership as they have done with other African-American trans leaders of color?
If a transgender Martin Luther King existed, would they listen to his/her
speeches, read their words and turn them into coordinated action, or
would they criticize him as 'being too divisive', 'playing the race
card', or sabotage what he was trying to do and then brag that they were
glad they stopped 'that uppity n****r'?
If a transgender Martin Luther King existed, would they follow him or
ignore and disrespect him because they have a problem with his deeply
held Christian beliefs?
God may have already blessed us with a transgender Martin Luther King.
That person could be sitting in some preschool right now. They could be in a middle school or high school being mercilessly teased by other students or bullied. They could be matriculating in college. They could be on the Transsistahs-Transbrothas list. They could be anywhere and have an awareness of the transgender rights movement, but observed the things that have been done by the Caucasian transcommunity to various leaders of color over the years and opted not to participate.
If current activists of color can't get people to quit ignoring what they have to say, dissing their contributions to the overall transgender community or are unwilling to see past their various individual self-interests to work on behalf of a entire community, why should a transgender Martin Luther King expect better treatment? That's probably why you haven't seen him or her.
We shouldn't be expecting or looking for a messianic leader to lead us out of the wilderness toward the Promised Land of equality. There aren't that many people on this planet who possess Dr. King's combination of analytical intellect, scientific curiosity, superior oratory skills, writing skills, political pragmatism, telegenic looks, courage, strategic vision and sprituality in one package.
As Dr. King so eloquently stated, "Everybody can be great. Because
anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to
serve. You don't have to make your subject and your verb agree to
serve. You don't have to know about Plato or Aristotle to serve.
You don't have to know about Einstein's Theory of Relativity to serve.
You don't have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics
to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love."
There's a lot of work to do. Let's get busy.