Frances Thompson's Testimony

Frances Thompson was the first Black transgender woman to testify before Congress. Thompson was a formerly enslaved trans woman who lived in Memphis, Tennessee. On May 1, 1866 – during an event known as “The Memphis Massacre” – white Irish police officers asked Black men, women, children, and Black Union Army veterans to disperse during street parties. The crowd refused to leave, and police attempted to arrest the veterans. There was a growing rumor among the white townsfolk that this refusal to disperse was the beginning of an uprising. Groups of white vigilantes formed and randomly began shooting Black men, women, and children. This went on for 36 hours. Hundreds of Black people were estimated to be victims of assaults and robberies. Four Black churches, four Black schools, and 91 other dwellings were destroyed in arson attacks. Forty-six Black people were killed, and countless women were raped. Frances Thompson and her cisgender roommate, Lucy Smith, were raped by the white terrorists. A Congressional committee was formed to investigate the massacre, and Thompson testified. Thompson would become one of the most influential figures during that era because of her testimony, which led to the Reconstruction and Enforcement Acts and the Fourteenth Amendment – laws that extended civil rights to Black Americans. Ten years after the Memphis Massacre, Thompson’s transgender status was exposed when she was arrested on charges of “crossdressing.” Opponents of Reconstruction used her transgender identity to discredit her testimony, cast doubt on whether or not she was raped, and fight against the newly formed laws. Thompson was imprisoned, forced to detransition, placed on the chain gang with men, and died alone. Despite her oppression, Frances Thompson’s monumental historical contributions are still felt. We must ask why she has been erased and omitted from our modern vantage point.