“Thank you, Dr. Levine.” When I first heard about that President-elect Biden has selected PA Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine to be assistant secretary of health, I smiled. She’s been the embodiment of leadership throughout the pandemic in Pennsylvania and has many pre-pandemic accomplishments. She’s maintained dignity, calm, and adherence to science while navigating […]
On January 9, 2021, a Latinx trans man, Samuel Edmund Damián Valentín, was murdered Saturday, January 9, in Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico. Damian Valentin was born and raised in San Juan. He turned 21 in November of last year. His facebook page is filled with ruminations on sexism, politics, pop culture, and more. Initial reports […]
From Brave Space Alliance in Chicago: Davarea Alexander, 28, also known as Tyianna, was shot to death in the early morning hours in the 800 block of West 75th, Ashburn neighborhood, South Side on January 6, 2021. Officers were called just before 5 a.m. to the 800 block of West 75th Street, where two people […]
A Latina transgender woman in her early 20’s was shot to death on December 26 in the Bronx borough of New York City. She was shot in the back of her head and died at the scene according to officers responding to the 911 call. Her name was Alexandria Winchester. The Ali Forney Center in […]
Will Raphael Warnock and Jon Osoff say her name and speak out loudly about the myriad of oppressions Black trans women in Georgia experience?
Just a week after writing about the ugly shooting death of a 19-year-old Black gender nonconforming young adult while they were at a Christmas party, I was hopeful there would be no more deaths to cover in 2020. I was wrong about that and in a very terrible way. Another violent murder of a young […]
This is complicated story about identity, but it is a story that must be shared within that complexity because it also reflects the consequences of intolerance and hate in our society. The victim who was murdered in this story was a 19 year old young adult who was identified by friends as using both he/him […]
On November 22, 2020, a horrific crime took the life of 55-year-old white trans woman, Kimberly Susan Fial. She was volunteering at a local homeless shelter in Grace Baptist Church in San Jose, California when she and four other staff/volunteers were stabbed by a resident of the shelter. Kim and one other person died from […]
On November 12, 2020 the body of Fendi Mon’ezah Armstrong was discovered in a motel room near Lithonia, Georgia. Fendi was a 39-year-old Black trans woman. She was deceased when police arrived. Police have not yet released any information. Here’s a link to the initial reporting. Please note that it does misgender and deadname Fendi. […]
Skylar Heath was 20 years old when she lost her life on November 4, 2020 in Miami, Florida. Misgendering by media, law enforcement, and in her obituary obscured her death and her lived experiences as a young Black trans woman. From PlanetTransgender Miami-Dade police found Skylar Heath in the vicinity of NW 14 Court and […]
