On November 14, Giselle Byrd clocked a few hate messages directed at her on social media, but nothing too unusual for her as a Black transgender woman in the public eye.
Byrd is the executive director of The Theater Offensive, an LGBTQ+ production group, and the first Black trans woman appointed to the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women.
But by last weekend, it had ramped up with an influx of hateful rhetoric and several death threats.
“One in particular said, ‘Nothing a rope and a tree can’t fix,’” Byrd told GBH’s Boston Public Radio on Monday.
A few Google searches later, Byrd learned that right-wing media, including the account “Libs of TikTok” and talk show host Megyn Kelly, had picked up her appointment to the commission.
Byrd had been serving on the commission since the summer, when she was appointed by Gov. Maura Healey.
“Thankfully, no one physically got to me, but it became a nightmare to walk through,” Byrd said. On X, people had used the AI function to figure out Byrd’s birth name, family and employer.
This all happened just days before Trans Day of Remembrance on Nov. 20, which Byrd co-chaired for the city of Boston.
Byrd got connected to security and public relations services last week through her mentor, former commissioner Denella Clark.
The Commission on the Status of Women is an independent state agency founded in 1998. It’s composed of 19 commissioners who work to advance the rights and protections for women and girls across the commonwealth. Former Gov. Charlie Baker appointed the first transgender woman to the commission in 2016, Sarah Schnorr. Byrd is the first Black transgender woman to serve.
When asked whether she regrets taking this appointment, Byrd said, “Absolutely not.”
“I was raised by strong Black women, women who had survived the Jim Crow South, who had survived segregation in schools and overcome so much,” Byrd said. “And to me, joining this commission, being appointed by Governor Healey, was an opportunity to not only carry their legacy, but also to advance their rights and protections.”
The commission issued a statement condemning the hate speech, writing, “Commissioner Giselle Byrd is a member of this Commission and we will not stand for any hatred or violence directed at one of our own.”
Other local organizations spoke out in support of Byrd.
“These attacks aren’t happening in isolation. They are part of a coordinated and growing effort to push LGBTQ+ people—especially trans women—out of public leadership, off commissions, out of the media, and back into invisibility. And we are not having it,” leaders of the Boston Women’s Fund wrote in a statement.
“Trans women are women,” Dominique Lee, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, wrote in a press release.
As the director of the Theater Offensive, Byrd is especially interested in supporting queer and trans artists.
“With my role on the commission and with my work with Boston City Council, I make sure that not only do our artists have the means to make their art, but also at the core of their humanity, providing them with the services that they need,” she said.
