Indya Moore has raised over $20,000 for Black trans women during this pandemic

6th June 2020

The Pose star is aiming to raise money and awareness for trans women of colour.

Pose star Indya Moore has been using their platform to raise awareness of trans women of colour, and since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, has raised over $20,000 to help the community.

Speaking to NBC News, Indya explained: “Black trans women are impacted most heavily by anything affecting everyone as a whole. Black trans women would be impacted more, because they are very vulnerable.

“Black trans folk don’t have access to community, they don’t have family or other folks to rely on, and a lot of black trans folks often depend on sex work to survive.”

Indya then explained how their platform on Pose has benefitted their work in drawing attention to issues faced by Black trans women. “I know that people on my Instagram, who know me from my work on Pose, have come to care for black trans folk, come to care for the characters that we play, because we are the characters that we play after all,” they said.

“That’s what makes Pose so unique as a television show. So I really can’t imagine people not actually caring for all those real life Angels and Blancas and Lulus and Candies also.”

They then spoke about the fundraising process, saying: “My fan base has disposable income and are in more privileged circumstances. It can be hard to create a conduit between the most privileged folk and the most vulnerable, and so I came up with the simplest way to do it.

“It’s really important to me to prioritise those who will always be thought of last, if thought of at all. I am prioritising the needs of black trans women first, the ones who are least likely to have friends, boyfriends and families checking in or present at all.”

They added: “Redistribution of wealth [has] been important. But now it’s imperative!”

So far, over $20,000 has been raised, and the money has gone towards helping trans people with food, rent payments and gender-affirming care. People who wish to donate can do so through Indya’s Cash App.

Indya finished, by saying: “I’m really happy that people love me for my work, but it’s also important for people to connect with the fact that they love an artist who is also a black trans person that is part of a community who is being targeted every day with violence.”