Frances Thompson was an American, formerly enslaved Black trans woman and anti-rape activist. She was one of the five Black women to testify before a congressional committee that investigated the Memphis Riots of 1866. She is believed to be the first trans woman to testify before the United States Congress. Thompson and a housemate, Lucy Smith, were attacked by a white mob and were among many freedwomen who were raped during the riots.[1] In 1876, Thompson was arrested for "being a man dressed in women's clothing".[2]
Frances Thompson was born into slavery around 1840. According to Thompson she was raised in Maryland, and according to her testimony everyone but her mistress was killed in the rebel army.[3] She was enslaved by a man named Robert Walker and later travelled with his family to Memphis, Tennessee. She was assigned male at birth and later transitioned into a woman,[4] The Walker family allowed her to dress in dresses and recognized her as a girl. She was known to wear bright colored dresses, keep a clean shaven face and dress in feminine apparel. Since she was a child she used mobility aids and crutches because of cancer in her foot as she stated in her testimony. Newspapers often referred to her as "crutchy".
At the time of the Civil War many African Americans fled to Memphis to escape mid-south farms and plantations for the union camps and shanty towns around Memphis. They began arriving at a larger capacity after the Union victory in the "Battle of Memphis" in 1862. The African American population in Memphis increased from 4,000 in 1860 to 16,000 in 1865. This increase in population, and also increased amount of Irish coming to settle in Tennessee after the Potato Famine created competition for the few jobs available at the time.
Since there was an influx of African Americans fleeing to cities occupied by the union arm, Congress created the Bureau of Refugees, Freedman and Abandoned Lands; more commonly known as the Freedmen's Bureau which assisted the rationing and managing of resources for newly freed African Americans.
At this time Memphis was a safe place for African Americans during the war- especially in the south- and a place where especially if they were free they could make their own way without going back to plantations after the war ended for little pay. In Memphis there were predominantly African American neighborhoods such as Beale, Linden, Turley, St. Martin, and Causey Streets.
Since the majority of her master's family was killed, she was a free woman in Memphis at the age of 26. She rented an apartment on Gayoso Street which was a majority black neighborhood known as "Hell’s Half Acre".[5] She washed clothes, sewed, and ironed clothes to make a wage as a free black woman. She was assisted by her 16 year old housemate Lucy Smith, who later appeared in court alongside Frances to testify. By the time of the Memphis Massacre she was publicly a woman for at least 20 years.(A Black Women's History of The United States)[6]
Since she was a young woman she was a figurehead for women's rights, and brought awareness to black women's rights in the south post reconstruction. Despite the aggressions she faced after the Memphis Massacre she continued to fight.
The Memphis Massacre happened in 1866, in Memphis Tennessee. It was a series of politically and racially motivated violence. The Civil War had just ended and Reconstruction was in full swing in the South. The area which was targeted was South Memphis. White people in the South, particularly poor Irish immigrants, were paranoid that formerly enslaved Black people were going to take their job opportunities. This created tensions between the two groups. These tensions were escalated by newspapers who were stirring up the pot.[7] The Memphis police force had just cut back on their numbers. The tension was made worse when the Army decided to put Black, Union Army soldiers in charge of patrolling the streets of Memphis. White police officers, most of whom were Irish, were angry and clashed with the soldiers. Soldiers would be arrested for minor crimes by the police and instances of police brutality rose.
The day before the riot, rumors were flying, among the white community, that Black people were planning a violent altercation. Most soldiers had been discharged and were waiting for their pay. While most of their weapons had been returned to the Army, some soldiers had access to private weapons. That afternoon, April 30, a fight broke out between white police officers and Black soldiers. The fight split up but rumors spread quickly and that night, drunk Black soldiers fired pistols in the sky.
The day of the riot, May 1, 1865, a group of Black people including women and children were standing in the street, having a sort of street-party. There was shouting and a firearm went off. Three police officers decided to intervene, although they were quickly out-numbered and retreated. They called for reinforcement and began chasing the Black people. One police officer shot himself in the leg while running, which was blamed on the Black soldiers. News of the injury spread fast and angered other police officers who began shooting and attacking. A police officer reported that two officers had been shot and killed. This drew more police and other white residents of Memphis, including some government officials. However, by that point, most of the Black residents had dispersed.
With no one to have an altercation with, the white people turned to burning down Black homes, schools, and churches. The mob of angry people forced some of their victims to stay in their homes while they burned down. This group continued into the morning at which point Black people were fleeing for their lives, not trying to fight back but merely survive. In the end, the mob burned around 50-90 homes and killed 46 Black people and injured 75, including 5 women raped.[7]
During the Memphis Massacre, Francis Thompson was in her house with her roommate, Lucy Smith, when seven white men, including three police officers, broke into her house and demanded her to cook for them. They demanded her to make them eggs, ham, and biscuits. They, then, demanded a woman to sleep with, when Thompson refused, they drew their pistols and raped her. They also raped Smith, who was 16 at the time. The men then robbed her and Smith of around 300 dollars which is about 10,000 dollars in current USD.[3]
In the weeks after, Thompson was left sick and unable to work and Smith could not speak for a few days because the men had choked her so violently. They were attended by a Black doctor, who helped them recover.
Congressional Testimony
Thompson was among a group of 170 people who testified before the U.S. Congress during a committee hearing to document the terror, death, rape, arson, and theft they experienced during the Memphis Riots.[8][9] In her testimony, Thompson spoke out about what had happened to her and Lucy in front of a Congressional panel. Her account of the brutal rape of her and her roommate drew panel members to tears.[4] Thompson and Lucy's emotional accounts captivated many people about the horrors that happened in the Memphis race riot. Although this substantial evidence stacked against the rioters, they were released with no repercussions.[4]
As a result of her testimony, she faced a lot of hardship and abuse regarding her gender identity as a transgender woman being widely known around the South. She later faced many false accusations that claimed she operated a brothel.[10] Not only being among the 170 people who testified in front of Congress during the Memphis Massacre Thompson was the first transgender woman to testify as well. This led to numerous physician examinations which led to her being outed as a transgender woman. Southern Democrats weaponized her identity as a transgender woman to discredit her and other black women's claims of rape by white men.[11] This all stemmed from her testimony as a transgender woman.
The way Frances Thompson was seen and treated after her testimony is a reflection of how many African Americans were treated during this time. Her testimony along with the other people who testified is a brave example of how they were willing to give this historical documentation of racial violence in America because of this being one of the first instances where an African American transgender woman spoke in front of Congress.[3] Frances Thompson is seen as a key figure in the LGBTQIA community for her bravery in sharing her account will all attention focused on her. Thompson was one of the first African American women to speak about sexual assault by a white man this later had a large emphasis in the feminist and civil rights movements in the 1950s-1960s.[12]
Her testimony was used to help pass the enforcement acts of 1870-1871 because it was such an important and emotional testimony that outlined the violations of the 14th and 15th Amendments that guaranteed the rights of African Americans and highlighted the widespread violence and intimidation that sought to prevent African Americans from exercising their rights.[13] Although she is usually overlooked by many for her impact on the world she brought key steps forward towards both feminism and civil rights.[14]
Arrest
Frances Thompson
After Frances Thompson testified before a committee made up of members from the U.S. Congress who were investigating the riot in Memphis, Tennessee, she was arrested and sent to prison for cross-dressing. Frances Thompson had been living with another woman named Lucy Smith who was sixteen years old at the time. While living there, white men had gone up to their door with weapons and forced themselves in. They saw pictures of a Union Armygeneral on the wall and then raped both Thompson and Smith. The BlackPast, a website dedicated to providing the history of Black people in the world, says that her "biological gender was also be exposed after she was forced to undergo numerous physician examinations" [11] to determine her gender, declaring her a man, despite describing herself as "double-sex". When they discovered that she was biologically male, this changed the entire case, and they would often refer to Frances as "Frank". Later, Frances Thompson would be interviewed about the examination and the case and asserted herself that she had been raised as a girl and that it should not matter to the public how she dresses. She said that it was "None of your d— business" when the reporter asked why she wore women's clothing. This case was heavily politicized, and the Southern Democrats wanted to use the fact that Thompson was assigned male at birth to arrest her for dressing as a woman to refute her testimony. By arresting her, they could discredit her rape accusations and refute her testimony.
Congress wanted her to go to prison so they could keep her important and telling testimony out of the courts by weaponizing her identity as a woman. Congress claimed that her testimony could be used as propaganda for Reconstruction, and her testimony would be discounted and thrown out due to her arrest. Once arrested, Frances Thompson was not able to pay the fifty-dollar fine in 1876 for cross-dressing (which is worth about 1,474 dollars in 2025 per Inflation Calculator)[15] but was not able to pay the fine, so she was sent to prison where she served the entirety of her one-hundred-day sentence. They knew she would not be able to pay such a large fine as she was a former enslaved woman who did not have a lot of rights in the South. She also had cancer in her foot, and was not able to walk without support or crutches, but was sent to the chain gang nevertheless, where according to the Haymarket Books, Frances Thompson - Sojourners for Justice series,[12] she was chained together with other inmates to perform various physical assignments. Additionally, while in prison, she was forced to dress as a male, despite identifying as a woman. There she was abused in prison by other inmates, including physical and sexual abuse. Discrimination played a huge role in her arrest due to being a Black transgender woman living with a disease. Many people did not want to believe her, which is common among sexual assault survivors. People thought that since she was assigned male at birth that she was incapable of being raped, therefore her testimony could not be trusted. This arrest from cross-dressing, which according to Historically Thinking[16] "did not adhere to normal gender expectations" in the South, which was crucial in dismissing her testimony so that there would be less evidence in this case. By proving that Frances Thompson was assigned male at birth, they could arrest her from dressing as a woman, which is how she identified.
Death
In 1876, shortly after her release from jail, she moved to North Memphis where Thompson became sick and was taken to a hospital by some of her concerned community members due to her illness. She died shortly after later that same year due to dysentery at the age of thirty-six. Her life was short, but she survived many experiences that would pave the way for others like her to do the same.
Legacy and impact
Thompson, growing up in a life of slavery, struggle, and disappointment managed to leave the world with a life of a lasting legacy and impact. Following the Memphis Massacre in 1866, Thompson made quick work to be heard. Not only was Thompson a woman who testified in front of Congress about the events of the Memphis massacre, but Thompson was one of 5 black women to testify about these events.[11] In a time like the 1800s, slavery was still at large all over the South, and as an African American woman in those years, it could leave a bad lasting impact on your life if the testimony got into the wrong hands, but Thompson managed for a while. Thompson's testimony notably played a pivotal role in winning the public side for the "radical" Reconstruction of America after the Civil War.[13]
Thompson not only impacted America as a black woman who testified in front of Congress, but Thompson was also making history, becoming the first-ever transgender woman to testify before the congressional committee.[17] Thompson had spent the majority of her life as a transgender woman, who would advocate for her rights and bodily autonomy. 10 years after the Memphis massacre, in 1876, Thompson would later be arrested for cross-dressing but also maintained her rights as a woman.[14] When asked about her gender after the arrest, Thompson would tell reporters that police had long been aware of her gender and that they only made an issue of it after premeditated plans.[18] Thompson would then leave jail and live the rest of her life proudly as a transgender woman up until her passing at the young age of 36.
Thompson, in just 36 years of life had become one of 5 black women, a former slave, and a transgender woman to testify in front of Congress, as well as becoming an advocate for both bodily autonomy and anti-rape. Thompson's testimony would be one of the few there that would lead to the government also enacting legislation that protected the civil rights of newly emancipated African Americans.
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