Laila tov, good evening.
Two more of my trans siblings have been murdered here in the US this year (and dozens more in the rest of our world), bringing the total to twelve -- and all twelve are Black trans women. Brooklyn Lindsey, 32, Kansas City, Missouri, June 25th; Denali Berries Stuckey, 29, North Charleston, South Carolina, this past Saturday July 20th.
The other ten stolen sisters are Dana Martin, 31, Montgomery, Alabama, January 6th.
Jazzaline Ware, age unknown, Memphis, sometime in March.
Ashanti Carmon, 27 -- like Zoe, who she knew, right here in Maryland, in Prince George’s County’s Fairmount Heights at the DC border, March 30th*.
Claire Legato, 21, Cleveland, shot April 15th and died May 14th.
Muhlaysia Booker, 23, Dallas, May 18th -- having survived a transphobic attack by a group on April 12th.
Michelle ‘Tamika’ Washington, 40, Philadelphia, May 19th.
Paris Cameron, 20, Detroit, May 25th -- Alunte Davis, 21, and Timothy Blancher, 20, both Black gay men, were also killed, and two other people were injured.
Chynal Lindsey, 26, Dallas, June 1st**.
Chanel Scurlock, 23, Lumberton, North Carolina, June 6th.
*Zoe Spears, 23 -- like Ashanti, who she knew, right here in Maryland, in Prince George’s County’s Fairmount Heights at the DC border, June 13th.
**Johana ‘Joa’ Medina, 25, a Latinx trans woman from El Salvador, also died on June 1st, in El Paso, Texas -- just hours after being released from ICE custody. Layleen Polanco, 27, an Afro-Latinx trans woman, was found dead in her cell at Rikers (Island Jail, New York City) on June 7th.
Last year in 2018, more than 30 trans people were murdered here in the US, and well over 300 others elsewhere in our world. And the great majority of our stolen siblings here are Black, women, and young -- elsewhere, Latinx trans women and transfeminine people. Too, very little attention is given to the murders, assaults and disappearances of Native / Indigenous people -- especially girls, women, and/or Two Spirit people.
We also continue to lose many siblings to suicide -- the attempt rate in our community is over 40%. And there continue to be unreported trans deaths, reported deaths where the victim is not identified as trans, non-fatal assaults and much more. Trans people are not included in even basic civil rights laws in most states, and several states have anti-trans legislation in process -- in addition to the Trump administration’s attempts to undo trans rights progress on a national level.
And while I say little here or elsewhere about the death details -- primarily to avoid further traumatizing my trans followers, especially those living at similar intersections as the victims -- it is vital to say that the great majority are shootings, and that this is yet another reason we desperately need gun control, and it is an LGBTQ+ and racial justice issue.
May all of my trans sisters, brothers and other siblings’ memories be blessings (as we say in Judaism) -- and call us to act, particularly at trans justice’s intersection with racial, immigration and economic justice! This month and every month, may we schlep towards tikkun olam, world repair, at the intersection of LGBTQ+, climate, racial, immigration, spiritual, fat, disability, and all other stripes of the rainbow of justice! May we never forget that white supremacy has always included cis supremacy, misogyny and transphobia! Amen!
#TDOR #TDOR2019 #TransDayOfRemembrance #BlackLivesMatter#BlackTransLivesMatter #LatinxLivesMatter #LatinxTransLivesMatter#NativeLivesMatter #TwoSpiritLivesMatter #TransLivesMatter
