Another California Transwoman Murdered

Sad to report about another trans woman being murdered on the Left Coast.

26 year old Melony Smith was found dead in her Baldwin Park, CA motel room back on September 9.   The reason it took so long to find out is because once again, the trans person was misgendered by the po-po's.

Note to police: Pronouns are not necessarily pegged to the genitalia between the person's legs.  If you have a female bodied person with a penis, that's a hint an a half that you are dealing with a trans person and you need to ID her as a female or announce in your press releases the murder of a transgender female'.   It makes it much easier for the trans community or someone who knows her as that female bodied person to identify her. 

You also slow down your own investigations and lengthen your odds of arresting the perpetrators who committed the crimes by not doing so.

The alleged perp in this case, 28 year old Stephen Gonzales was already in jail on another charge, and was charged with murder and robbery in the Smith case, according to a felony complaint filed in Pomona Superior Court and a report in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.  Gonzales was also accused of the special, sentence-enhancing allegation of committing murder during the course of a robbery.

Rest in peace, Melony.  Let's hope that justice is served in this case.  
   

All Hail Queen Cassidy!

Trans history was made last night in Huntington Beach, CA as Cassidy Lynn Campbell was elected by the student body of Marina High School as their homecoming queen.

Earlier in the school day Cassidy was announced as one of the five finalists for the title to the cheers of her fellow students with the final announcement made at last night's homecoming football game. 

"I'm so proud to win this not just for me but for everyone out there and for every kid -- transgender, gay, straight, black or Mexican. It doesn't matter, you can be yourself," she said after her win.

She becomes the first out trans feminine student ever in the United States to hold that distinction and I couldn't be happier for her.   But if it weren't for a transphobic principal at North Dallas High School that historic distinction could have happened in Texas three years ago.  



All hail Queen Cassidy and congratulations!

California Transteen A Homecoming Queen Candidate

While ground has been broken in terms of an open trans masculine teen being elected homecoming king of his school (Niko Walker in 2010), that hasn't happened yet for an open trans feminine student.  A 19 year old trans student named Devon became homecoming queen at her high school while stealth and revealed it on Katie Couric's talk show back in February.  

I chronicled the attempt of Andy Moreno to break the trans homecoming queen glass ceiling a few years ago at North Dallas High School that was thwarted by her transphobic principal.

Now word is coming from the Left Coast that 16 year old senior Cassidy Lynn Campbell has been named one of the ten homecoming queen candidates at Marina High School in Huntington Beach, CA. 

"I'm a girl and if my school could recognize me as what I've always wanted the world to recognize me as my entire life, then it would be such an accomplishment," Campbell says. "It's okay to be transgender and it doesn't matter what kind of girl you are -- you can still be a queen."

Cassidy has been transitioning for three years and is also a popular YouTube video blogger. Her nomination comes at a time in California in which Gov Jerry Brown (D) signed AB 1266, a law that that many trans youth in the state advocated for.  It allows K-12 trans students in public schools like Cassidy to participate in sex segregated school activities apropos to their gender presentation.   The conservafools are gearing up to fight this law by collecting signatures for a ballot initiative to repeal it.  

We'll have to see later today if Cassidy makes trans history.  At Marina High's homecoming pep rally, the field of ten homecoming queen candidates will be trimmed down to the five finalists with the queen being crowned at the school's football game tonight.

Good luck, Cassidy and hope you walk away with the crown tonight.   

Dr. KRZ Being Honored By TLC October 3!

At the rate he's collecting awards, he may need to build a trophy case soon. 

Was happy to find out that my Left Coast trans brother and fellow blogger Dr. Kortney Ryan Ziegler will be honored by the Transgender Law Center at their upcoming October 3 SPARK! gala with the inaugural Authentic Life Award.

As Shawn Demmons stated in his commentary about Dr. Z posted on the TLC website and I wholeheartedly agree with:

"In his filmmaking, writing and community engagement, Kortney is forward thinking - he's creating opportunities and visible space for transgender people broadly, and transgender people of color especially."

Yes, he is.  And the recently concluded Trans*H4CK was just another sterling example of Kortney's ability to come up with creatively innovative solutions to advance the cause of trans human rights and expand visibility for trans people of color.

Hope you peeps in the Bay Area are planning on showing Dr. Z some love when that October night happens.

Congratulations, Dr Z!  Can't think of a better person for TLC to give the first ever Authentic Life Award to. 

Trans H4CK Compilation Post

Still basking in the afterglow of that historic event that I was pleased to have had a ringside seat observing and deliriously happy I got the opportunity to be in Oakland's marvelous late summer weather for.

The peeps who were there making trans history along with our beaming allies are still talking about it.  The buzz generated by Trans*H4CK ended up in local media along with this Wall Street Journal article 

I'm looking forward to hearing about Trans*H4CK 2.0.  I'm sure if it does happen Kortney will be letting me and 'errbody' else know the dates for it so I can pass them along to you TransGriot readers.

Y'all know I wasn't just sitting in my Washington Inn Hotel room twiddling my thumbs, especially after I discovered they had a computer downstairs.  I went into reporter mode for this weekend while waiting for Sunday and the major reason for my trip to Oakland as a judge for this wildly successful inaugural Trans*H4CK.

Personally, I hope another one happens and Kortney gets much more support for it from the Bay Area trans community and elsewhere.  I also hope that other parts of the country replicate this model and use it in their own communities and start creating empowering apps and computer content that help advance our community and trans social justice issues.  

To make it easy on you, I'm consolidating those Trans* H4CK posts in one handy dandy one for your TransGriot reading pleasure and enjoy.

Trans H4CK-Day One

Trans H4CK-Day Two

Trans H4CK-Day Three 

Bye Oakland and Trans H4CK, Hello H-Town

   

Trans H4CK-Day 3

A truism about life is that all good things must come to an end, and I awoke Sunday morning with a sense of sadness.  I thought about the fact that my time in Oakland was rapidly coming to a close along with Trans* H4CK.

The hackers were feverishly working to bring their projects to completion by the 12 noon PDT deadline at the Betti Ono Gallery before we headed over to the New Parkway Theater for the 3 PM unveiling of the projects and discover who would take home the prizes in the inaugural TransH4CK.

I thought about what one of the trans hackers told me in terms of Brandy Martell being fatally shot two blocks from where trans hackers were compiling code for apps and websites that would help save lives and advance social justice issues in our community

I took a moment on my journey to the gallery from my hotel to walk by that corner at 13th and Franklin Streets to say a few words of silent prayer for her and express my hope that the perpetrator who committed that crime soon faces justice in an Alameda County criminal courthouse.

3 PM arrived way to soon as we took our seats in the New Parkway Theater to await the unveiling of the Trans Hack projects the six teams were working on.   They ranged from a phone app that changes the pitch of your voice to a site that facilitates clothing exchanges between trans masculine and trans feminine people

Kortney, myself and our other two judges had a tough time sorting out who would be the prize winners for the initial Trans Hack since all of the projects are ones that were worthy of winning the prizes for first second and third place.

But I was flown 1900 miles to help make that tough decision, and the winning project was Trans* Resources US.

They were the first to make their presentation, and they blew us away with the breadth, scope, execution and the fact it was already live on Facebook.  Second place was Dottify.me, and third was Know Your Transgender Rights. .

Sometimes it pays to go first.

After taking some photos and watching Kortney get interviewed (he is a grad of GLAAD's POC Media Institute like yours truly), we headed to a nearby bar to celebrate the fact the inaugural Trans*H4CK was an unqualified success.

The lives of those of us who participated in this amazing inaugural trans hacking event were impacted.  Six open source projects with enormous potential to help the trans community were created, friendships were forged, and Kortney finally gets to exhale after he drops me off at the airport in a few hours.

And yes, if you're wondering, Trans*H4CK 2.0 is n the planning stages

Trans H4CK-Day Two

Day Two of Trans Hack dawned as another overcast and cool morning in Oaktown stubbornly hung around until a little after 1 PM to reveal another cloudless blue sky northern California day.  

I had an interesting night after I got back to the hotel because there was a Skyline High School reunion party happening until 2 AM and didn't get to sleep until 3 AM because some of the reunion folks were parked on the street on my side of the hotel keeping the party going instead of taking their behinds home.

By the time I walked my dressed down self into the Betti Ono Gallery for Day 2, it was underway and embarking on its groundbreaking mission of creating social justice apps for the trans community.

The six teams of trans hackers and allies were hard at work as I arrived at 9 AM continuing to put them together with a break scheduled at noon for an informative and interesting Gender In Tech panel discussion moderated by Fresh White.

Once it was over an hour later the hackers returned to work on compiling their projects that they hope will earn them Trans Hack cash prizes later today when they present them to be judged

While they were doing so we also had a pair of the latest tech toy in Google Glass that people were eagerly trying out.  Of course it was not long before the hackers in the room familiar with my blog realized the TransGriot was in the Trans Hack house.


While some of the assembled hackers congratulated me about my almost eight year old blog and asking questions about it, I was doing the same for them in terms of marveling at the work, patience, skill and hours it takes to write computer code and turn it into a finished app or computer program.

It's a skill I envy them for having.  

The apps and programs are quickly taking shape with the work lasting long into the night and through breakfast, lunch and dinner from local area eateries.

Speaking of lunch, I spied a place across the street from the gallery that served pizza by the slice and decided to try it.   I was well pleased with the quality and size of the two slices I got.

In the interim I was interacting not only with the hackers, but many of the people in the Oakland community, Trans Hack supporters and having long conversations with them on a wide variety of issues.

I even broke out another one of my little known hidden talents when I did an impression of Robin Leach, who used to host the 1984-1995 TV show Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous that Nick Cannon is supposedly discussing doing a revival of in response to a humorous comment Kortney made.

The big day will be happening in a few hours as the groups make their presentations at the New Parkway Theater, the judges ask their questions, and the winners of the inaugural Trans Hack prizes will be decided and announced.

Trans H4CK-Day One

I'm in the Bay Area, Oakland to be precise for the first time since 1999 to attend and be part of the action for the inaugural Trans H4CK at the invitation of organizer Kortney Ryan Ziegler

And yeah, I get to see first hand how my $10 investment in his dream came to fruition.

I got up at 4 AM CDT to head over to Hobby for an uneventful 8:45 AM flight to Oakland in which I arrived to an overcast morning that was gone by noon PDT to reveal a beautiful Northern California late summer day.

I was scooped up at the airport by longtime TransGriot reader Terrilynn Cantlon, who proceeded to take me to lunch in which we had a long conversation about the state of the trans community and other issues at our establishment in the shadow of the Oakland Coliseum, the Raiders home stadium.    Terrilynn also swung me by Lake Merritt when we were done to check out this beautiful urban lakefront and park before we headed downtown and my second floor room at the Washington Inn Hotel.

You know the old saying about the circle of life?   My hotel is across the street from the Oakland Convention center which was where the 1999 edition of Creating Change was hosted.   Talk about deja vu, especially since y'all know yours truly is helping put together the 2014 edition that's coming to H-town in January.

Terrilynn and I finally head over to the Betti Ono Gallery, where I met the owner Anyka Barber who was also excited to be the host venue for this inaugural Trans H4CK.

I finally see Kortney and meet his partner Tasha, which was the first of many introductions and hugs I would get this evening as we wound closer to the 7 PM start time of the event.

Trans H4CK kicked off with Google Hangout chats featuring Janet Mock and two other people. After the hangout chats were completed the over 30 assembled hackers introduced themselves, formed into teams and began the process of creating apps and other computer programs that not only will earn cash prizes for their teams, but also advance the social justice mission of the trans community.

Moni needed her beauty sleep after her long day that ended near 11 PM PDT, but I am headed over to the gallery now to check out the Day 2 goings on and be in the house for the panel discussion that is going to happen at noon.

I also want to see the amazing work of the hackers and it coming to fruition as they embark on the longest day of the hackathon

Tell y'all about it later.

.  

Dantjier Powell Sought In Domonique Newburn Killing

Domonique Newburn's alleged killer is still out there on the run and it's only a matter of time before he is caught and hopefully brought to justice. 

We have a name for the person accused of killing her back on August 20, and it's 18 year old Dantjier Powell of San Bernadino, CA. 

Interestingly enough Powell dated the 31 year old Newburn for several years and her car was found in a park in that city.

Powell's father went on KTLA-TV recently to plead with his son to surrender and face the judicial music for his alleged crime. 

Powell according to a NY Daily News article is purported to be traveling with Jamie Nicole Cotton, 25, and may be trying to escape via bus.

The trans community hopes he listens to his father and stops running so justice can hopefully be served in this case.  It's just a matter of time before Powell is spotted, caught by the police wherever that happens and extradited back to California when they do. 

He is alleged to have done the crime, and now its time for him to face justice for being the person alleged to have violently taken Domonique's life.

And yeah, trans community, no trans panic defense allowed in California.

It also goes without saying that I'm sick of my transsisters being killed with little or no legal repercussions for the persons who did the horrific deed. 

Two More Trans Sisters Senselessly Killed

Damn, we've lost two more girls like us to anti-trans violence.   Once again both transwomen who were killed were under age 35.

We'll start this sad news off with what transpired in New York last weekend.   

21 year old aspiring fashion designer  Islan Nettles was out with a group of trans girlfriends when they ran across a group of men around 11 PM EDT Saturday at the corner of West 148th Street and Eighth Ave. 

When the men realized they were girls like us, they began spouting transphobic slurs and savagely throwing punches   Nettles was taken to Harlem Hospital where she remained on life support for several days until she was taken off of it August 22 and subsequently died of her injuries.

The anti-trans hate attack took place across the street from the NYPD Police Service Area 6 station and resulted in the initial arrest of 20 year old Paris Wilson.    The investigation by police detectives was thrown course by a false confession of one of Wilson's friends and the belief that Nettles' injuries weren't fatally serious.

Nettle's mother and Harlem based TBLG groups are not happy with the ridiculaously low bail set in this case. The Manhattan D.A. requested $7,500 bail during the first court appearance but Judge Melissa Crane set bail at $4,000 bond or $2,000 cash after Wilson's attorney argued that he was no flight risk.

"It's troubling that such a terrible attack would happen and there was no awareness and the person got let back out on the street with a small bail," said Carl Siciliano, executive director of the Ali Forney Center said according to a DNAInfo story.         

Meanwhile on the Left Coast it was 32 year old aspiring actress Domonique Newburn, who was found dead in her Fontana, CA apartment at 4:30 PM PDT on August 20   Newburn appeared in the YouTube web series Hollywood House Boys, a show about gay and transgender friends

Witnesses told police they saw a bare chested man leaving the apartment in what appears to be Newburn's vehicle, a black four door 2004 Mercedes  C240 with the California license plate 7AAY925 

Suspect in this case was described as Black, in his late 20s to early 30s, 5 feet 8 inches tall, with an average build.

Fontana police at this time aren't investigating the murder as a hate crime and are looking for the suspect in this case.

What's Trans* H4CK?

One of the increasingly popular things happening is what's called a hackathon.  It's a community event in which programmers, developers, graphic designers, entrepreneurs and community members share ideas and skills to develop new software projects over a course of either 24 or 48 hours.

Hackathons are increasingly being used as a way to solve social problems, and Dr. Kortney Ryan Ziegler got the brilliant idea to do a hackathon called Trans* H4CK that combines the tech savvy talents of our trans community members with social justice activism

When asked why a trans centric hackathon needed to happen and be supported by LGBT organizations:

Hosting a hackathon can leverage the specific insights and talents of community members invested in LGBT equality by generating ideas that your organization normally wouldn’t. Think of potential participants as a temporary “think tank” comprised of dedicated volunteers of the cause. It is inevitable that the amount of passion each hacker brings to the table, will produce amazing tech based projects that can help make the lives of activists and the community that we serve a little easier. Plus, the bonus of working in a collaborative environment that values the input of each team member creates a sense of collective responsibility and comfort in which the learning of new tech skills is possible.

On the Trans* H4CK page it also made this salient point.

Research shows that transgender people are unemployed at 2x the national rate–4x for transgender people of color; have incomes of less than $10,00 a year; experience homelessness at 2x the rate of non-trans people; and suffer overwhelming discrimination when it comes to accessing adequate healthcare and legal services. This problem not only affects transgender adults but trans and gender nonconforming youth as well. A necessary step in addressing anti-transgender bias is to create technology that socially empowers transgender individuals. Imagine if there existed a mobile phone app that helps individuals find trans friendly doctors or an app that profiles safe space job opportunities for trans people across the country? Trans*H4CK is a space in which to turn these possibilities into reality.

After conceiving the idea and laying out the case for it, Dr Ziegler set out to make it happen with a GoFund Me campaign to raise funds to bring it to life.

On September 13-15 the inaugural Trans* H4CK will take place at the Betti Ono Gallery in Oakland and the New Parkway Theater.   This first trans hackaton will be limited to 50 people and will be a judged competition.

The judges and the speakers at the inaugural Trans* H4CK will be named later and I'd love to be there in the Bay Area just to satisfy my inner tech nerd and see what takes place at a hackathon.       

I'm down with any event that showcases the immense untapped talent and creativity of our community and hope it is as megasuccessful as I presume it will be. 

Suspect In Vivian Diego Beating Case Pleads Not Guilty

21 year old Nicol Shakhnazaryan, one of the alleged perps arrested June 20 in the vicious beating of Vivian Diego has plead not guilty to charges of battery with serious bodily injury and assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury in the May 31 attack.

Shakhnazaryan's attorney is incredibly claiming self defense for his client.  He asserts that Diego was the aggressor that night and attacked his client and his friends.

Yeah, right. That surveillance videotape says otherwise.  But if that tactic of convincing a jury that the videotape is lying worked to get off LA cops shown beating the crap out of Rodney King with their batons back in 1992, I can see why you'd try to run that same legal defense playbook with a white defendant from the San Fernando Valley and a Los Angeles trans Latina victim.in court especially since the Gwen Araujo Justice For Victims Act bans the use of the trans panic defense in California..

Shakhnazaryan faces eight years in jail if he is convicted and is due back in court July 16 to get his preliminary hearing date. 

The other people involved in the beating of Diego have yet to be arrested and a $25,000 reward is still being offered in the case for any information that leads to their arrest. Anyone with information about the attackers should email hollywoodcrimetips@gmail.com or call LAPD detectives at (213) 972-2967.  

Hello 2013 Camp Aranu'tiq West Campers!

Today is the first day of the opening session of Camp Aranu'tiq West in its double secret California location.that runs until July 6

So what's Camp Aranu'tiq?  It's a summer camp for trans and gender variant kids ages 8-15 that has double secret locations to keep away the haters in California and New England.

They are probably too busy having fun and meeting each other to be concerned about what this trans elder blogger has to say but just in case they are reading this blog, here goes.

***

Hope you're having a wonderful time at camp.   It's something many of your trans elders wish we could have taken part in and reminds us that while there have been some remarkable trans friendly changes in the world since we embarked on our transitions, we still have much work to do and much more to accomplish toward the goal of making this a world safe for you to accomplish whatever big dreams you come up with.

What I said in last year's post applies in this one because it hasn't changed one millimeter, Camp Aranu'tiq campers.  Know that your trans elders and our allies love you.  We are doing everything we can to fight for a world in which you have an easier time navigating it.  Have fun while you're there at camp and be proud of the men and women of trans experience you are growing into.

One Down,Three To Go In LA

One of the wastes of DNA suspected of being involved in the brutal May 31 transphobic hate assault on Vivian Diego was arrested by LAPD Hollywood Division detectives in the San Fernando Valley

21 year old Nicol Shakhnazaryan, was arrested Thursday night on felony battery charges for the May 31 attack and is being held on a $1.05 million bond.  LAPD with an assist from the FBI are searching for the other three suspects and the $25,000 reward for information leading to their capture is still in effect.

One down, three to go.

Vivian Diego Speaks

I posted recently about the vicious transphobic attack that was aimed at 22 year old Los Angeles girl like us Vivian Diego who was jumped by four wastes of DNA on May 31 while walking home after work between 2:15-2:30 AM PDT on Hollywood Boulevard near Vine Street. and the nekulturny transphobic reaction of Bossip to it..

Diego has not only gotten support from my fellow Texan Eva Longoria, the owner of the Beso restaurant where she works as a barista, the LAPD is offering a $25,000 reward for information that leads to the apprehension and conviction of the four thugs who committed this crime.

TRIGGER WARNING for the surveillance video of the attack on Vivian..




Vivian, who spent a week in the hospital recovering from the hate attack (yeah, that's exactly what it was) , suffered a cracked cheekbone, two broken ribs and has her jaw wired shut.  

She recently spoke to the LA CBS-TV affiliate there.




Here's hoping that the video and the reward lead to the arrest by LAPD of the four wastes of DNA who committed this hate crime.

Still Miss You, Tracy

June 28 will mark the second anniversary since those of us who know Tracy Bumphus were stunned to hear the news about her untimely passing.

She's hanging out with the angels now, but that still doesn't keep those of us who knew and loved her from missing her and thinking about the ways she touched our lives be it in a small or quite significant way.

I not only stumbled across this guest post in my TransGriot archives that she'd written and I posted when the TS ubermenschen separatists were running wild back in 2010, had declared me as their number two enemy (a fact I'm still chuckling about to this day) and tred to drag her name into their mess. 

Another reason Tracy is on my mind besides the upcoming anniversary of her death is because I was sent a link to a HIV/AIDS testing video that she'd done in her capacity as a program assistant at the AIDS Project of East Bay

Even though it's two years old the message is still relevant and needs to be heard.  Even better, we get to see Tracy in action doing what she always did, educating people

And yeah, this is also a reminder for you TransGriot readers to take a moment to tell the people that you love and care about in your life how much you love and care about them.  Once you or they have left this plane of existence, it's too late to do so.

Dr Z's Hackathon For Trans Empowerment

Y'all know I have much love and respect for Dr. Kortney Ryan Ziegler and enjoyed the long chats I had with him during the 2013 BTMI conference in Dallas. 

Dr. Z's latest project is the first ever hackathon centered on uplifting the transgender community and we need your help and t-bills to ensure its success.   His May 1 blac(k)ademic essay  laid out the case why LGBT organizations need to embrace hackathons  

But here's Dr. Z to tell you what it's all about and the link to the GoFundMe page that is trying to raise $5,000 for this event.   I'm happy to put some of my own money to this cause and get it started.

WHY A HACKATHON CENTERED ON TRANSGENDER PEOPLE?

Research shows that transgender people are unemployed at 2x the national rate–4x for transgender people of color; have incomes of less than $10,000 a year; experience homelessness at 2x the rate of non-trans people; and suffer overwhelming discrimination when it comes to accessing adequate healthcare and legal services. This problem not only affects transgender adults but trans and gender nonconforming youth as well. A necessary step in addressing anti-transgender bias is to create technology that socially empowers transgender individuals. Imagine if there existed a mobile phone app that helps individuals find trans friendly doctors or an app that profiles safe space job opportunities for trans people across the country?

Trans*H4CK is a space in which to turn these possibilities into reality.

Over the course of 48-hours, developers, designers, activists, community members, youth and entrepreneurs invested in the betterment of the lives of trans and gender nonconforming people, will share ideas and create apps, websites and products that provide solutions in challenging anti-transgender discrimination.

Money raised will be used for space rental, travel sponsorships for out of town participants, payment for guest speakers and prizes.

Trans*H4CK is organized by Dr. Kortney Ryan Ziegler--an internationally recognized award-winning transgender advocate. More information on Dr. Ziegler can be found at: blackademic.com

 

Happy Birthday Harvey Milk!

“It takes no compromise to give people their rights...it takes no money to respect the individual. It takes no political deal to give people freedom. It takes no survey to remove repression.”

― Harvey Milk

Today would have been the 83rd birthday of Harvey Milk, the iconic civil rights leader who became the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in California when he ran for and won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977.

His June 24, 1977  'You've Got To Have Hope' speech that announced his run for supervisor is still as timely, eloquent and relevant today as it was when he first delivered it.

He was only in office for eleven months until his and Mayor George Moscone's assassinations by former supervisor Dan White on November 27, 1978  but was responsible for passing a stringent gay rights ordinance in the city.

His May 22 birthday is now celebrated in the state of California as an unofficial holiday and Harvey Milk Day events have begun to spring up in various cities around the country to celebrate the life of this iconic leader.






Happy birthday Harvey!    We could use a lot more visionary people like you in the 21st century LGBT community.

Trans Francisco Documentary

This 2010 documentary by Glenn Davis delves into the lives of several transwomen in the San Francisco Bay Area.   It features Miss Major, Cecilia Chung, Kayla, Tiffany Woods and Theresa Sparks

Skip The Makeup's Gina Morvay wrote a review of it when it debuted back in July 2010. 

Since then Trans Francisco has been screened at LGBT and trans film festivals around the world, and you can get more information about the award winning film at its transfrancisco.com website. 

Trigger alert for discussions of graphic sexual assault and anti-trans violence

Trailer




Kayla discussing her relationship with her parents




Alexandra Cruz



Cecilia Chung



Miss Major

Brandy Martell Memorial Vigil Held In Oakland

As I mentioned in one of my posts, a memorial candlelight vigil was held in Oakland to mark the one year anniversary of the date that Brandy Martell was killed.   The 37 year old Martell was fatally shot while sitting in her car through the door an window of it at the corner of 13th and Franklin Streets.

Martell was a peer advocate for TransVision, a Fremont, CA based organization for trans women. Martell worked there from February 2007 to November 2011, offering health information and outreach to other transgender women.

Last night Brandy's friends and colleagues gathered at that location to remember her and also point out the perpetrator of this crime has yet to be brought to justice.  They lit candle and movingly spoke of her TransVision work  

Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan was also there urging folks with information on this case to come forward and help OPD solve the crime.

Anyone with information on Brandy Martell’s murder can send the Oakland Police Department tips anonymously by texting TIP OAKLANDPD to 888777, calling the toll-free hotline at (855) 847-7247, or by calling (510) 535-4867.

“If you saw something, say something,” said Police Chief Howard Jordan at the vigil. “We know there were a lot of people out there that night who saw what happened. Don’t let Brandy’s death go in vain.”

Don't let the wastes of DNA who committed that crime go free.   If they killed Brandy so callously, they could possibly kill someone else you're acquainted with, too.

They need to be rotting in jail.  Let's do what we can to ensure the crime gets solved and Brandy can rest in peace.