Nonbinary Black Artist YOKO Killed in New Orleans

YOKO New Orelans Nonbinary

New Orleans based nonbinary artist YOKO was killed in a hit and run accident on September 19, 2023. They were 30 years old. The non-binary artist was killed Tuesday by a hit-and-run driver in Gentilly. New Orleans police said it happened just before 6 p.m. at Franklin and Fillmore avenues. Police said the victim was driving […]

Black Trans Man Mar’Quis ‘MJ’ Jackson, 33, Killed in Philadelphia

Mar’Quis Jackson, known as MJ, turned 33 years old on December 12, 2022. He didn’t come home that night. Two days later, the Black trans man was found dead in the backyard of a residence in Nicetown, a Philadelphia neighborhood. The Philadelphia Police Department is investigating the death of a man found with trauma to […]

Black Trans Masc Teen, 15, Found Dead in Kansas

Ace Scott Transgender Kansas

His name was Ace Scott. In April, his body was discovered in an abandoned lot near residences north of W. 9th Street and Central Avenue in Kansas City, Kansas. That was April 15 and I am just learning about Ace Scott today, thanks in part to the diligent documentation of the Trans Day of Remembrance […]

Q&A With La’Tasha Mayes, Candidate for PA House District 24

As a voting rights advocate and integrated voter engagement organizer, there is a frame for voting justice called “electoral justice” coined by Jessica Byrd, Rukia Lumumba, JD and Kayla Reed of the Movement for Black Lives. It represents the idea posed in your questions created by Black women and femmes working at the intersection of […]

Update – Missing Person: Latina Trans Woman Africa Otero Died in a Car Accident

Africa Otero

Sadly, Africa Otero did not survive the evening. She was killed in an automobile accident. RIP, Africa. Africa Otero, 26, has not been heard from since 1 AM Sunday, March 20, when she posted a short video on YouTube from inside the Mamajuana club, on the first block of North 9th Street in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. […]

Pgh Media Outlets Lift Up White, Cis Voices and Allies to Examine SCOTUS LGBTQ Ruling, Disregard Black Voices

I am deeply dismayed that most of the regional media coverage of yesterday’s stunning civil rights win for the LGBTQ community has centered white cisgender and heterosexual folx. I don’t understand how these journalists could have been so deeply embedded in recent events without questioning why all the ‘deciders’ are white cisgender folx? Or incorporating […]

Three LGBTQ Black Voices Speak Out About the Shooting of Antwon Rose in Pittsburgh

Before our local Pride events, a friend contacted me – she’s a journalist and was working on a piece about the intersection of queer and Black identities. She wanted to know if any of our AMPLIFY contributors might be interested in talking with her (because she gets the point of AMPLIFY – to signal boost […]

Q&A with Erika Strassburger, Candidate for Pgh City Council District 8

Erika Strassburger yard sign

The Special Election to fill the City Council seat for District 8, formerly held by Dan Gilman is many things. It is a contested election with Democratic, Republican, and Independent contenders. It is a race full of big ideas on everything from pothole repairs to clean water and rent control. It is also a genuine […]

‘Christian’ Psychic, Dakota James Foundation Sharing Misinformation About Gay Bars in Pittsburgh

A self-described ‘Christian Intuitive Medium and Psychic Detective’ named Troy Williams is contacting members of the local LGBTQ community to help identify a so-called person of interest in the disappearances of Dakota James and Paul Kochu. This person of interest was photographed in Cruze Bar and Williams is circulating the photo looking for a name.  Note, […]

Black Trans Woman Brandi Seals is the 25th Transgender Person Reported Murdered in 2017

Brandi Seals Transgender

  She was 26 years old. Her name was Brandi Seals. She lived in Houston, Texas. She was a black trans woman. And she is now the 25th transgender person to be murdered in the US during 2017. According to reports from Houston media, it was just around 6 a.m. Wednesday, December 13,  when neighbors […]