Pier Kids.
Pier kids is a documentary that is close to being released. The documentary follows the plight of black LGBTQ homeless youth in New York city. The name ‘Pier Kids” comes from the fact that they congregate on Christoper Street and the surrounding Piers during the day and night. Some of them sell their bodies for money, some of them are strung out on dope; all of them are treated unequally by a society that refuses to accept them, and refuses to help them.
The film focuses on the lives of three of these pier kids, two gay males Casper and Deshawn and one transgender woman, Crystal. The film follows these three through the trials and tribulations they go through every day. The film speaks about gender identity, and what it means to be queer and forced onto the street. On a larger level the film puts focus on what we don’t want to see, forces us to acknowledge that the circumstances of gay, and especially transgender homeless is something that is not on par with the regular, awful though it is, homeless situation.
The film asks and answers questions about what could be done to fix the situation. The streets are safer than homeless shelters for the queer youth – so where are the safe places for these individuals? Where is the free healthcare for those who work the sex trade, and black LGBTQs are statistically at the highest risk for HIV/AIDS.
The film also shows the unjust police profiling of queer black kids in the west village and the surrounding areas. The police come in, profile, beat and arrest these kids, simply for being what they are where they are. There are countless stories of LGBTQ kids being stopped and frisked then having their condoms confiscated; forcing the kid to go unprotected all night, or not eat. The excuses come from the police as ‘wrong place and the wrong time’, but if that were truly the case the arrest levels for both white and black individuals would be the same; and we all know that isn’t the case; the problem is, we, as a society refuse to acknowledge it. This film focuses a firm camera on police profiling and their complete disregard for due process of law. We should show solidarity. The police are preying on these kids and no one is doing anything to stop them. It’s times like this that we as a queer community should remember The Stonewall, and what happens when the police push the community too far.
Watch the preview and donate to support the making of this important film.
John Hutt 