Newark Police Looking For Men Who Attacked Trans Woman

Anti-trans hate thoughts + Anti-trans hate speech = anti-trans hate violence.

Unfortunately it is Black trans women who are living with and bearing the brunt of this Equation of Trans Oppression being played out in real time.

If people aren't trying to kill us, they are inappropriately and violently in many cases putting their hands on us, and that toro caca needs to stop.

I was sent a link to the infuriating video by Londyn De Richelieu concerning this disturbing incident that happened in Newark recently a block from Newark's city hall.  .

What it looks like in the snippet of video that I was sent, is that for whatever reason, a trans woman and a cis male were engaged in a physical altercation.  The trans woman appears to have gotten the upper hand on her tormentor, had him pinned to the ground and was kicking that butt as a crowd of bystanders watched.

Then another male in a white t-shirt, black jeans, a black wave cap  and a backpack jumped into the fight,pulling the trans woman off the pinned down male and began to violently kick her in the face, stomp her head and strike her in the face several times before it ended.

The video obviously has caused outrage in Black Trans World, especially in light of the fact we have already lost 12 Black trans women this year to anti-trans violence.

I'm happy to inform you that Newark Police are now looking for the two men involved in this incident, and if you have information on their whereabouts, you are urged to  call the NPD's Crime Stoppers tip line at 1-877-NWK-TIPS (1-877-695-8477) or 1-877-NWK-GUNS (1-977-695-4867)

Your anonymous tips will be kept confidential, and could result in a reward if the perpetrators are captured and brought to justice.

So yeah, I'm all in favor of calling the cops on these fools and seeing justice served for the trans woman they attacked.

Christie Vetoes Trans Birth Certificate Bill For Second Time

Governor Transphobe, er Chris Christie (R-NJ) showed his transphobic side again to the people of New Jersey, its trans citizens, the nation and the world by vetoing for the second time a bill that would have allowed trans and intersex people the opportunity to get a clean copy of their birth certificates without undergoing genital surgery..

I would have had he signed it, allowed for a person’s gender marker to be changed upon receipt of a note from their health care provider indicating that the individual has undergone treatment appropriate for a gender transition, in accordance with the most recent medical standards for treating gender dysphoria.

Several states and the District of Columbia already have such policies in place, and this is the second time that he has vetoed such a bill, citing 'fraud and abuse' as his cover excuses for doing so.

Activists in the Garden State were hopeful but not surprised that this veto happened.   There was hope that because this 2015 version of the bill had more bipartisan support, he would possibly sign it, but LGBT activist in the state were less optimistic about that possibility.   They pointed to his need to pander to the GOP conservative base in the rest of the country in an attempt to bolster his 2016 GOP presidential nomination aspirations as to why this TBLG bill would probably get vetoed by him .

As for the possibility of a potential override of his veto?  Not likely even though the Democrats have the majority in both the Assembly (48-32) and the Senate (24-16)    An override would require 27 votes in the Senate, and 54 votes in the Assembly.

That means it would require six Republicans to join that effort in the Assembly and three Republican senators to do so in that chamber, and Republican legislators have traditionally supported their governor..  

The trans birth certificate bill initially passed the Senate 30-6, with four members absent, and the Assembly 51-23, with six members absent.

So trans and intersex New jersey residents once again got thrown under the political bus by their GOp governor.   Why should I not be surprised by that development?

Christie Vetoes NJ Trans Birth Certificate Bill

For you trans, bi and SGL folks in our community who voted for Sergeant Schultz New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (R) in the last election cycle thinking he was a 'moderate', well, here's something to burst your bubble concerning that misguided line of thinking in addition to the ongoing BridgeGate scandal.

The New Jersey Senate passed on a 21-11 vote back in December A-4097/S-2786, a bill that revises the procedure to issue amended birth certificates for persons born in New Jersey who have undergone a gender transition.  The bill would allow them do so without surgical intervention. 

The bill had previously passed the New Jersey General Assembly on a 43-37 vote back in June.

Christie today gave A-4097 an ABSOLUTE veto, which means it needs a 2/3 majority in both houses to override the veto.  Translation: that's 27 Senate votes and 54 General Assembly votes. 

That means the Democrats, who have the majority in both houses, would not only have to get everyone in their caucus to vote to override, need to have 3 Republicans cross the aisle in the NJ Senate to do so and on the General Assembly side get 7 Republicans to cross party lines to do so.

Seeing that the bill passed the 40 member New Jersey Senate with 21 votes and the 80 member General Assembly with 43 votes, they would need to flip 6 NO votes in the senate and 13 NO votes in the general assembly to reach that override threshold. 

Not likely that's going to happen on the GOP side, especially with a governor with a reputation for punishing his enemies, even if he is politically wounded right now. 

So if you needed another reason to not like Chris Christie, here it is.
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Senator-Elect Cory Booker!

On behalf of the nation, thank you New Jersey for handling your electoral business yesterday and sending Newark Mayor Cory Booker to Washington as your next US senator. 

The rising Democratic political star entered this special election as a heavy favorite to claim the seat once held by the late Sen Frank Lautenberg and didn't disappoint. 

Booker crushed Steve Lonegan, the former state director of the Tea Baggers in New Jersey by garnering 713, 594 votes (54.6%) to Lonegan's 579,388 (44.3%) votes.

This special election was also taking place with the background noise of the GOP instigated government shutdown, something Booker noted when he spoke to his supporters in Newark. 


"It would have been easy to listen to this frustrating negativity and stay home today. But here in New Jersey, more than a million people rejected cynicism and came out on a Wednesday, in the middle of October, three weeks before we have another election, to fight the cynicism," he said.

"You didn't just vote, you believed that your vote and choice mattered," Senator-elect Booker said.

With the win Booker made a little African-American and political history.   He became the ninth African-American senator in US history, the first from New Jersey and the first Democratic senator elected from a state besides Illinois.   He is also only the fourth elected African-American senator in US history and the first elected since Barack Obama accomplished that feat in 2006.

Once he's sworn in, it will create for only the second occasion in US history two African-American senators serving in the Senate at the same time. More importantly, it restores the 55-45 Democratic edge in the Senate at least until November 4, 2014.

Senator-elect Booker will also have to run for the seat again next year since Sen. Lautenberg's term was due to expire in 2014.

Congratulations Senator-elect Booker on a historic night for you! 

Senator-elect Booker.   Gee, I love the sound of that!  

New Jersey, Handle Your Special Election Business!

Voters in New Jersey get to go to the polls today and handle their electoral business of selecting a new US senator to replace the late Sen Frank Lautenberg who passed away on June 3.

It's Newark Mayor Cory Booker (D) squaring off against Tea Klux Klanner Steve Lonegan to fill out the remainder of Lautenberg's term.

For most of the campaign Booker has maintained a double digit lead of 13 points on Lonegan but the race has tightened over the last few days to a mere 10 points.  Booker is favored to win in this election, but where's Nate Silver when you need him?

Since Sen Lautenberg was a Class 2 senator whose term was due to expire next year, the winner will have to run for reelection in the 2014 midterms in order to secure a full six year US Senate term

Should Cory Booker emerge victorious, he'll make a little political and African-American history.  He will not only become the ninth African-American senator in US history, but the first from New Jersey and the first Democratic senator elected from a state besides Illinois. 

So good luck Cory Booker!   Hope you win tonight.   We need somebody who will stand up for the interests of African-Americans in the Senate since it's obvious that cookie chomping conservative knee-grow from South Carolina won't. 
   

Another Day, Another Dead Black Transwoman Misgendered By The Media

So tired of this bull feces on multiple levels.  

First up, it is my sad duty to inform you that thanks to Lexie Cannes, I was alerted to the unfortunate demise of another Black trans woman who will not live to see her 30th birthday. 

Time for me to let loose my inner Florida Evans before I continue.

26 year old Eyricka Morgan was fatally stabbed Tuesday night in a boarding house in New Brunswick, NJ.  

Police were called at 8:17 PM to the boarding house on Baldwin Street where they found Ms. Morgan injured. She was rushed to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital where she died at 9 PM EDT. 

21 year old Devonte Scott was charged with murder, unlawful possession of a weapon, and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose in Eyricka's death and is being held in the Middlesex County Jail on $1 million bond according to Acting Prosecutor Andrew C. Carey.

The investigation into the murder is continuing, and anyone with information is asked to call Detectives Kenneth Adobe or Jose Rodriguez of the New Brunswick PD at  (732)-745-5200 for Det. Abode or Det.  Rodriguez at (732) 745-3300.

Now for part two of what's pissing me off.   Once again a dead African-American transwoman has been misgendered in the media because Sue Epstein, the Star-Ledger reporter in question either failed to do her job or as I suspect, the New Brunswick Po-Po's information officers misidentified and misgendered Ms. Morgan for whatever reason. 

By the way Sue and NBPD media officers, this is what the AP Stylebook guidelines are and have stated since 2001 concerning reporting about transgender people..

transgender-Use the pronoun preferred by the individuals who have acquired the physical characteristics of the opposite sex or present themselves in a way that does not correspond with their sex at birth.

If that preference is not expressed, use the pronoun consistent with the individuals live publicly.

Okay, New Brunswick PD, if your officers on the scene knew they were dealing with a transgender female,. they need to accurately pass that info on to you so it can be properly reported and you get the information you need to solve the case.  

Every time you law enforcement or media peeps misgender a murdered trans female as a 'man', you are not only pissing our community off with your insensitivity because this crap happens far too often around the country to transwomen of color, you are sabotaging the wheels of justice in the case by misgendering that person. 

In many cases we in the trans community only know trans women by their feminine names, so hearing their old male names will only register blank stares to the people who currently know them as the female bodied person they interact with.

So get busy correcting the stories about Eyricka.

And rest in peace, sis.

TransGriot Update:  Missed this story that quotes a 23 year old Eyricka when I wrote the initial post:

No Justice For Carmen-The Chambers Trial Foreman Speaks

Got an interesting comment today from Dennis Heffernan, the creator of the Cretaceous Comments blog

He was the jury foreman on the Alrashim Chambers trial.  Chambers as you know from reading my posts during that period was acquitted in the killing of Victoria Carmen White back in May. 

He reached out to me and wanted to share a blog post of his entitled 'No Justice For Carmen' that recounts what happened during the trial.

Here's an excerpt from it.:.

I will not claim I even pretend to understand the loss, grief and outrage Carmen’s friends and relatives must be feeling.  Likewise for the LGBT community, which has had to once again bear an injustice gone unpunished against one of its own.  In circumstances like these it’s natural to look for someone to blame.  It would be nice to be able to tell you not to blame us, the jury that acquitted Alrashim Chambers, to say that we had no choice.  But as I said I’m a student of philosophy and I can’t say that we had no choice unless there was in fact nothing else we could have done. 

We did have a choice.  In fact we did have to choose.  We had to choose who would be the victim of injustice: either Victoria Carmen White, whose murder would go unpunished, or Alrashim Chambers, who would be convicted despite the lack of sufficient evidence to overcome reasonable doubt.  We chose to keep our oaths as jurors and acquitted the defendant, thus visiting injustice upon Carmen.  If you’re going to be angry at us for doing so that is your prerogative.  All I ask is that you blame us for what we did, not for what we didn’t do.  We weren’t too stupid to understand the case.  We didn’t treat it frivolously.  We weren’t biased against Carmen.  We heard the case, deliberated it and in the end did our duty as specified in the oath we took.  If that makes us the bad guys…I can live with it.

Thanks for writing the post and shedding light on what happed from a juror's point of view.  But I too have served on a jury (an attempted capital murder trial) and understand what can happen in a jury room. 

You can live with that verdict Dennis, but we Black trans women in Essex County and around the country have to deal with the consequences of that verdict and the unspoken 'it's open season on Black trans women' message it sent.   

I'm just sayin'.

Alrashim Chambers Trial-WTF? Chambers Acquitted

Well, we just found out what a Black transwoman's life is worth in Essex County, New Jersey. 

Not a damned thing.

After a trial that started on April 30, included the testimony of the cousin of the victim and Marquise Foster and two days of five hour deliberation sessions, the jury in the Alrashim Chambers trial returned their verdict at 11 AM EDT this morning.

It acquitted the 25 year old Chambers of all counts in the September 12, 2010 slaying of 28 year old Victoria Carmen White.

WTF?

The jury found Newark resident Chambers not guilty of murder, bias intimidation and two weapons offenses. Chambers took the stand in his own defense, maintained he was innocent in the years leading up to the trial and faced up to life in prison if he had been convicted of murder.

I repeat, WTF?

"Obviously, we and the victim’s family are very disappointed in the verdict," said Essex County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Eileen O’Connor, who spoke with White’s relatives after the verdict. "But we put forth all the evidence in the case and did the best we could under the circumstances."

What the hell were you thinking Chambers jury?   You just set a murderer free to walk the streets of Newark.  In the process you just announced to the world that it's open season on transwomen in the area.

Once again, for a Black transwoman, the justice system failed us, Victoria Carmen White, her family and all the people who loved her..

Alrashim Chambers Trial-Foster Testifies

The murder trial of Alrashim Chambers, the accused killer of Victoria Carmen White continued in dramatic fashion on Thursday in the Essex County courthouse in Newark, NJ.

The prosecution brought their star witness to the stand in Marquise Foster, who testified in graphic detail that after both had sexual encounters with Carmen White, Chambers came to believe she was trans, pulled out a pearl handled gun and pointed it at White as she raised her hands and backed away.

Foster's testimony came a day after Carmen's cousin Sharon White and Natasha Wray gave their testimony about the events that unfolded on that fateful September 2010 night.

After Chambers asked 'You a dude?' according to Foster, Chambers fired three shots at Ms. White who was later pronounced dead at the scene.     


“He said he couldn’t live with nobody saying he slept with a man,” Foster told Essex County Assistant Prosecutor Eileen O’Connor on direct examination.  

As the two men drove off after the shooting, Foster recalled, Chambers kept saying, “ ‘My bad.’ … He was apologetic.”

'My bad' doesn't bring Victoria Carmen White back, you pathetic waste of DNA.  All you and Foster had to do was get the hell up and leave the apartment.  If you'd done so your transphobic azz wouldn't be facing life in prison now where you'll be sleeping with hardcore dudes for real if you're convicted. 

Neither will they be saying please and thank you when they toss your salad.
  
Ahem, back to the post. 

Foster's testimony was given in front of a large Essex County courtroom crowd comprised of family members and supporters from both sides of the case and fortified by beefed up security.

Defense attorney Bukie Adetula is trying to paint Foster as the shooter and for some reason was fixated on the amorous events of the evening. 

Under cross examination Foster admitted he had a sexual encounter that evening with Carmen White in the living room moments after Chambers did despite White initially rebuffing his advances.  "I thought the person was attractive. I thought she was nice-looking,” Foster said of White, adding he never questioned whether she was a woman like Chambers did.

Is Adetula trying to lay the groundwork for a 'trans panic' defense?  


The trial resumes tomorrow with the defense presenting their case after police investigators and forensics experts take the witness stand.

Will keep you posted. 

Alrashim Chambers Murder Trial Update

Alrashim Chambers is the alleged killer of transwoman Victoria Carmen White. His murder trial started in Newark ironically on April 30, the day that Victoria Carmen White would have been celebrating her 30th birthday.

It has been chugging along in the Essex County Courthouse while the eyes of the trans community were fixed on the CeCe McDonald trial happening in Minneapolis that started the same day and others were mourning the murders of Paige Clay in Chicago and Brandy Martell in Oakland.. 

To bring y'all up to speed on the story of Victoria Carmen White, the 28 year Maplewood, NJ model met Chambers at a nightclub in Irvington, NJ while on a girls night out with her cousin Sharon White and Natasha Wray in September 2010. 

They returned to Sharon White's Maplewood apartment and when Chambers discovered she was trans he shot her multiple times.  Carmen White was pronounced dead at the scene and Chambers was arrested a month later along with Marquise Foster.  

Chambers was arraigned back in July 2011 on murder and bias intimidation charges and is facing in prison if justice is served in this case.  Foster was also indicted for murder but plead guilty to a lesser sentence in exchange for his testimony against Chambers..


Carmen's cousin Sharon White and Natasha Wray were in the apartment's bathroom at the time of the murder and testified Tuesday on behalf of the prosecution     Ms. White and Ms. Wray both testified that Chambers was kissing Carmen White and went to the bathroom to give the couple some privacy.   Foster was on his phone at the time.

When the bathroom door briefly swung open at one point, the women saw Carmen White leaning against Chambers, with her shirt partially pulled up.

"I yelled to my cousin, was she good," Sharon White testified. "She said she was ok."

Minutes later, the party turned deadly when Sharon White and Wray both testified they heard a man yell: "You a dude?" followed by three gunshots.

The bathroom door was closed at that moment so neither Sharon White or Wray could tell who fired the shots. They also couldn’t ascertain who uttered the statement, the tone of which sounded like "a question, with anger," as Sharon White put it.

In his previous statement to police, Marquise Foster said he and Chambers both had sexual encounters with Carmen White during those few minutes when the women were in the bathroom, but that only the defendant suspected she was a trans woman.

The trial continues with Sharon White and Natasha Wray's testimony, and as I hear the updates from it, I'll pass them on to you TransGriot readers.