Black Trans Ohio Woman Fatally Shot in Detroit

Dede Ricks

Dede Ricks, a 33-year-old Black trans woman, was shot to death in Detroit on August 27, 2022. Dede was from Ohio, possibly Cleveland. While police have identified, arrested, and charged a suspect in her murder, there is not much information known about DeDe (sometimes styled Dede) or her family. We do know that she did […]

Black Trans Woman Hayden Davis, 28, Murdered in Detroit

Hayden Davis Detroit

Hayden Davis was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. On Monday, July 25, she lost her life there as reported by Dee Dee Watters of TransGriot. In another horrific attack affecting the LGBTQ+ community, a transgender woman was shot and killed in Detroit on Monday evening. Her body was found on the city’s east side, in the […]

25-year-old Black Trans Woman Naomie Skinner Murdered in Detroit

Naomiee Skinner

Naomie Skinner was a 25-year-old Black trans woman from Kentucky. On Saturday, February 12, 2022, she became the third trans person reported dead in 2022. Per The Detroit News: A Highland Park man is accused of fatally shooting his girlfriend after an argument escalated and then dragging her body out of an apartment and into […]

37-Year-Old Black Trans Woman Natasha Keianna Found Dead in Her Car in Detroit

Natasha Keianna, a Black trans woman, went missing from her Detroit home soon after Christmas Day in 2020. Her family reported her missing and provided a description of her vehicle to local police. Two weeks ago, residents along Coyle and Vassar reported an unknown vehicle parked near their homes. According to residents, police did not […]

Paris Cameron, 20, was the 6th Black Trans Woman Murdered in the US in 2019

Paris Cameron

Over the Memorial Day weekend, I read about the death of a Black trans woman in a triple homicide in Detroit. From The Advocate: “Officers responded to a call at 5 a.m. in the 3400 block of Devonshire where an unknown gunman shot a 21-year-old man, a 20-year-old man and a 20-year-old woman. The two […]

Baptist Pastor Arrested for Murder of Trans Woman Keanna Mattel in Detroit

Keanna Mattel

Baptist pastor Albert Weathers, 46, was arraigned Monday for the murder of transgender woman, Keanna Mattel, according to a post at Planettransgender. Weathers is charged with open murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. The 36th District Court set bond at $1 million according to The Detroit News. Other details suggest […]

Keanna Mattel, 35, is 24th Trans Neighbor Murdered in the US during 2018

Keanna Mattel

I learned terrible news tonight from Detroit where a 35 year old Black trans woman was murdered Friday morning, the 24th transgender victim of fatal violence in the US this year. Her name was Keanna Mattel. Note that Keanna’s surname has been spelled with one ‘l’ and with two. We are using the spelling on […]

Melvin, 30 Year Old Gay Black Man Murdered in Detroit

Transgender Candle

  Very sad news coming out of Detroit, Michigan – the tragic murder of a third queer person in 2015. The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) has learned of the homicide of Melvin, a 30-year-old black gay identified male shot to death on Monday, October 5, in Detroit, Michigan. According to media reports, a […]

TWOC Amber Monroe Murdered in Detroit #SayHerName

Amber Monroe Transgender

Amber Monroe, a 20 year old trans woman of color, was murdered in Detroit this weekend. She’s the 3rd transwoman to be murdered in the past 17 days in the United States. While details are still limited, Equality Michigan released a statement: The body of 20-year old Amber Monroe was found murdered in Detroit this […]

Watch This Terrific Documentary on PBS This Week

Grace Lee Boggs

Over the weekend, I was introduced to Grace Lee Boggs who is a 99-year-old Chinese American activist deeply enmeshed in the fabric of Detroit. I learned about Grace from a reference on Bitch Media to a free documentary streaming on PBS (through Thursday July 30) “The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs.” Grace’s story is an […]