Pgh Lesbian Correspondents

On April 24, 2025, a 25 year old Black trans woman named Kelsey Elem was brutally murdered in St. Louis, Missouri. Local media reported on her death, as they do. I wrote a memorial post. And …

Where is the LGBTQ media? Young Black trans woman brutally murdered. 20 minutes away from the location where Michael Brown was killed in 2014.

Meanwhile, another event unfolded in Pittsburgh on Friday, May 2, when law enforcement officers showed up unexpectedly at a local gay bar P-Town, evacuated the patrons without explanation. Then allowed 70 of them to return, 70 being the legal occupancy limit. Noted drag performer Amanda Lepore was scheduled to perform. Local artists continued to perform on the sidewalk while patrons waited to be readmitted.

There are significant questions about the reasons for this raid. Mayor Ed Gainey has said it was tied to the code violations, not the identity of the club patrons. He and City Council Deb Gross are working to acknowledge the trauma and consider how to balance public safety needs against potential bias and abuse.

This Pittsburgh event has swept through LGBTQ media – everyone is writing about it. It is understandable that any hint of a raid of a LGBTQ bar would be a terrible reminder of a not-so-distant past.

But a 25 year old Black trans woman was murdered by her boyfriend and well that’s a uniquely modern (and historical) part of LGBTQ+ life where BIPOC trans lives are not valued. Raiding a bar for any reason reminds us of historical trauma. Taking the life of a young Black trans woman IS adding to historical trauma that stretches back far before a gay bar existed.

In 2015, I interviewed Billy Hileman about controvery around Pridefest and he kept returningn to the lack of representation by Pride organizers as a key element.

A black queer teenager might be more connected to what happened to Trayvon Martin or Michael Brown than whether gay and lesbian couples can get married. The LGBTQI movement has to have a pro-choice and anti-racist agenda.

Kelsey Elem was shot to death about 30 miles from the spot where Michaell Brown was killed by a police officer in 2014. Kelsey would have been about 14 years old at that time. I can’t be the only one who saw that context. Right? Or noted that at least one violent death of a Black trans woman has been reported in Missouri since at least 2019.

It is easy to blame the person who killed her and shift these uncomfortable conversations about racism in our community to the side. But it is part of the reason people keep dying

I’ve been waiting for mainstream LGBTQ media to report on Kelsey’s death. It has been almost two weeks. Where is the outrage? Where is the acknowledgment that Kelsey’s life mattered?

Everyone in the P-Town bar who was present the night of the raid went home safely. I can’t speak to the impact on their mental health or feelings of safety or fear moving forward about queer spaces. But half were allowed back in to the venue to continue their evening and I assume the rest dispersed.

Nobody was punched in the jaw repeatedly until blood spattered around the room, then killed by someone they gave access to their life.

Those are two very different outcomes. And LGBTQ+ media should be exploring both events. The only reason I can see for the lack of attention to Kelsey’s murder is that they don’t have enough resources. Fewer journalists, fewer editors, fewer digital staff. The impact of the anti-DEI rhetoric on sponsorships, funding, advertising, all of it – this is how it is showing up.

I live in Pittsburgh so I will be following the local story – I find the devil is often in the municipal code, but that code is public information. But the threat is not to gay bars as a concept. The threat is to the LGBTQIA+ human beings who patronize, work, and own these establishments. We are way past the point of merely sending people back into the closet.

Kelsey knew that, I suspect. She seems like she was an astute person. She grew into adulthood immersed in the aftermath of the killing of Michael Brown as Black trans woman AMAB. She wasn’t safe in her own home or any closet. She wasn’t safe in her relationship – note that we do not know how her partner identified. She was at the epicenter of everything and paid dearly for it.

Kelsey’s family is struggling to raise funds for her funeral expenses.

LGBTQ+ media outlets are struggling to stay afloat with new collaborations and co-publishing through ‘News is Out’ and ‘QDigital’

News is Out includes Bay Area Reporter, Dallas Voice, Philadelphia Gay News, Tagg Magazine, Washington Blade, and Windy City Times. They recently added  Buckeye Flame (Ohio), Between the Lines/Pridesource (Michigan), Lookout (Arizona), OutSFL (Southern Florida), QNotesCarolinas (Carolinas) and Watermark Out News (Central Florida).

QDigital is LGBTQ Nation, Queerty, Gay Cities, Into, and OutSports.

Since we have outlets already creating memorial content, why not find ways to collaborate? Is that a solution? Why not lean into substack/newsletter journalists? Dare I say, bloggers?

Well, at least it is an attempt to address a serious problem.

Please report on Kelsey’s killing. Please mention Michael Brown. Please remind us that the traumatic experiences our community endures are very much rooted in racism, sexism, gun fetishes, and interpersonal violence.

And pay attention to Pennsylvania. We have to find a way to do all of these things.