BU BÖLÜM HAKKINDA
Frances Thompson, a formerly enslaved Black trans woman, lived her womanhood in public despite escalating danger in post, Civil War Memphis. She survived the white supremacist violence of the 1866 Memphis Riots and testified before Congress, placing her voice into the national archive at a time when Black women were rarely heard.
Later arrested under laws policing gender nonconformity, Thompson's life reveals how race, gender, and state power intertwined during Reconstruction era United States — and why her testimony still matters as debates over bodily autonomy and public identity continue 150 years later in 2026.
Music: "Hard in America" by Gabriel Kelley, licensed through Epidemic Sound.
A Note on Sources:
This episode was made with care. It's based on established scholarship and publicly available archival records. If we've made an error, please let us know at https://binarybasherspodcast.com
Embracing All of Me is a storytelling and advocacy platform for the multi, complex, and in-between, uplifting the voices of Bi+ people of color, our kin and friends. Visit our FAQs and Sources page to learn more about how this episode was developed.
Topics: Frances Thompson, Black trans history, Black transgender history, Reconstruction era, 1866 Memphis Riots, Congressional testimony, Black women's history, gender nonconformity, trans resistance, bodily autonomy, LGBTQ+ history, Black queer history, post-Civil War America, trans historical figures
