Islan Nettles-One Year Later

21 year old Islan Nettles was just beginning to have some positive things happen in her life.   She had just started a new job.  She had recently moved into her own apartment in Harlem and the budding fashion designer was starting to work on her own clothing line.

She was also beginning to blossom into a confident young woman as her transition progressed..

But that came to a screeching halt one year ago today.  Nettles was out with a group of trans girlfriends when they ran across a group of cis men around 11 PM EDT on that fateful Saturday night at the corner of West 148th Street and Eighth Ave in Harlem. 

When the men on that corner realized the women they encountered were girls like us, they began spouting transphobic slurs at first that progressed up the transphobic violence scale to knocking Nettles to the ground and  savagely throwing punches at her until she was rendered unconscious. 

Nettles was taken to Harlem Hospital where she remained on life support for several days.  She was declared brain dead, taken off life support on August 22 and subsequently died of her injuries.

It's a year later and Nettles alleged killer Paris Wilson still hasn't been brought to justice, to the major pissivity of my New York area trans sisters   TWOCC and others in the area continue to stay on the case to ensure that Islan's memory and what happened to her doesn't fade from our consciousness.  

They are also determined that the perpetrator of this heinous crime is tried, convicted and sentenced to extensive jail time


Rest in Power, Islan.  Know your New York sisters and all who loved you will keep fighting to ensure justice is served in your case.

TransGriot Update:  There will be at 4 PM EDT a demonstration at the same corner and police precinct where Islan Nettles was murdered.    Gathering at the corner of 147th St and Fredrick Douglas Ave in Harlem,  NYC 10030.