Barack Obama's Eulogy of Rep John Lewis

President Barack Obama delivers the eulogy at Rep John Lewis' funeral in Atlanta;'s historic Ebenezer Baptist Church

The Final 2019 US Trans Names List

 As the ball is about to drop in New York's Times Square to signal the end of the 2010's and the beginning of  a new year and new decade, still had this bit of old business to deal with. 

I don't have to tell you TransGriot readers that 2019 was another deadly year, specifically for Black trans women.  Texas was the epicenter of it, with us losing four trans women.   It could have easily been six had Pinky in Houston and Daniela in Dallas not survived being shot by assailants who are at this writing, still at large.

These are the names of the trans folks in the US who have been killed in this 2019 calendar year

Dana Martin, 31, Montgomery, AL
Ashanti Carmon, 27, Fairmount Heights, MD
Jazzaline Ware, 34, Memphis, TN
Muhlaysia Booker, 22, Dallas, TX
Michelle Washington, 40, Philadelphia, PA
Claire Legato, 21, Cleveland, OH
Paris Cameron, 20, Detroit, MI
Chynal Lindsey, 26, Dallas, TX
Chanel Scurlock, 23, Lumberton, NC
Zoe Spears, 23, Fairmount Heights, MD
Brooklyn Lindsey, 32, Kansas City, MO
Denali Berries Stuckey, 29, North Charleston, SC
Marquis Kiki Fantroy, 21, Miami, FL
Pebbles LaDime Doe, 24, Allendale, SC
Jordan Cofer, 22, Dayton, OH
Tracy Single Williams, 22, Houston TX
Bailey Reeves, 17, Baltimore, MD
Bee Love Slater, 23, Clewiston, FL
Ja'Leyah Jamar Berryman, 30, Kansas City, MO
Elisha Stanley, 46, Pittsburgh, PA
Itali Marlowe, 29, Houston, TX
Brianna BB Hill, 30, Kansas City, MO
Nikki Kuhnhausen, 18, Vancouver, WA
Yahira Nesby, 33, Brooklyn, NY

Stats Breakdown
Female- 23
Male-  1
Age
0-19 -  2
20-29 - 14
30-39 - 6
40-49 - 2
50-59- 0
Race-Ethnicity
White- 2
Black- 22
Latinx-0
Asian-Pacific Islander-0 

The three things that jump out at me besides the fact that 22 of the 24 people that we lost were Black and 14 of them we between the ages of 20-29, is that we lost ZERO Latinx people to anti-trans murders. 

Not that there weren't any attempts on the lives of our Latina trans siblings.  It's just they were blessed those attempts didn't turn into fatalities.

For those of you claiming Layleen Polanco, who died while incarcerated at Rikers Island was murdered, not according to the NYC coroner.   That is why she is not on this list, which follows the protocols of the Remembering Our Dead project founded by Gwen Smith 20 years ago.

One thing we can all agreed on is 24 murdered trans people is far too many, and these are just the ones we're aware of.  It may be far more .  There is a Black trans woman in Oakland who has been missing since December 1

May they rest in power with the ancestors.   May the peeps who murdered them also be found guilty of their crimes and be punished to the full extent of the law for their crimes

Number 15 -Rest in Power Jordan Cofer

We have been hearing about the twin terrorist attacks in El Paso, TX  and Dayton, OH all week.  Unfortunately one of the things trans America just learned as a community is that a trans man was killed in the Dayton terror attack.

Turns out that the 22 year old sibling of Dayton shooter Connor Betts was one of the nine victims in the August 4 attack by Betts at a popular club in the city's entertainment district    The sibling was also the first to die in that terrorist attack that also wounded 27 people before Betts was killed by Dayton police. 

That sibling, Jordan Cofer was being misgendered by family,  Dayton police and the media to the point that Jordan's friends spoke out about it.

According to writer Katelyn Burns,  Cofer was out to a group of friends,  preferred he/him pronouns and self identified as trans masculine..

That means that Cofer is not only the 15th trans person we've lost this year, but is also the first trans masculine and non-Black trans person killed in the United States in 2019.

Cofer's murder also continued the pattern of trans people under age 30 being killed.

It is a pattern that needs to stop. 

Rest in power, Jordan.   Your friends who loved you will ensure that you're never forgotten, and you will always live in their hearts and memories.
   .

Number 7 Rest In Power Chynal Lindsey

I and the Texas trans community still haven't had time to regroup after laying Muhlaysia Booker to rest, and now a mere 24 hours after Dallas Pride happens, we are now having to say the name of another of our trans siblings gone far too soon in her young life.

We go back to Dallas for the second trans person they have had murdered there in 2019, the second in the state of Texas, and the seventh in the United States.

Meet 26 year old Chynal Lindsey.   She was born in Chicago, but lived here in the Lone Star State.  Her body was found in the White Rock Lake reservoir on June 1.

As I mentioned, she is the seventh trans person we have lost in the US to anti-trans violence.  All seven have been African American.   Five of the seven are under age 30.

As of yet,  haven't heard if there is going to be a memorial vigil or detail about funeral arrangements.  Dallas Police has called in the FBI on this case per reporting from David Taffet to determine whether or not this is part of a string of serial killings of trans women in the Dallas area.. 

Something else I haven't heard is the words 'Black trans lives matter' coming from the mouths of the Texas NAACP, which is headquartered in Dallas.

Rest in power and peace , Chynal.  We won't rest until the person who took your live is brought to justice.

     

Muhlaysia Booker Wake Today

Headed to Dallas today with Dee Dee Watters and Diamond Stylz as representatives of BTAC and Black Transwomen, Inc to attend the wake and funeral of Muhlaysia Booker.

The wake is later this evening at the Golden Gate Funeral Home starting at 6 PM CDT, with the funeral service being moved to the Cathedral of Hope.

If you live in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and wish to attend the wake and or the funeral, the Golden Gate Funeral Home is located at 4155 S. RL Thornton Fwy in Dallas

The funeral will start at 11 AM CDT    The Cathedral of Hope is located at 5910 Cedar Springs Road.   You may wish to get there early because they are expecting a large crowd to attend this service.

Number 23- Rest In Power and Peace Tydie

I was hoping we could get through the remaining weeks in this year without having another trans person murdered. Sadly that is not the case.

We head to Baltimore for our latest sister we will memorialize in 2018. 

Her name was Tydie Dansbury, and she was found unconscious on the side of a street at 4:15 AM EST on Monday, November 26.  Neighborhood residents who called the Baltimore PD reported hearing a gunshot in the 2400 block of Guilford Ave at W. Lanvale St. 

The 37 year old Dansbury was taken to a nearby hospital where she died a short time later.

BPD Police spokesperson TJ Smith said in a Baltimore Sun video interview that what they do know is that some kind of argument took place between Tydie and another person, and that person pulled out a gun and shot Tydie.   The perpetrators subsequently left the crime scene at a high rate of speed in a dark colored vehicle.

Baltimore police are urging anyone with information that can solve this murder and bring the perpetrators to justice to call the police homicide office at 410-396-2199 or text with tips at 443-902-4824    You can also call Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-7LOCKUP (1-866-756-2587) to leave anonymous tips.

Tydie is the 23rd trans person we have lost to anti-trans violence in the US in 2018 and the 17th African American trans person we have lost this year. 

The Baltimore Transgender Alliance hosted a vigil tonight that started at 7 PM at their headquarters,  The BTA will be monitoring the situation to ensure that justice is served for our departed sister.

And I have to note one other thing.  Baltimore is the headquarters city for the NAACP.   When will they speak out. as HRC is doing, against the plague of violence disproportionately affecting Black trans people?

When will our Black trans lives matter to the oldest civil rights organization in our community?

Rest in power and peace , Tydie.  You trans family and everyone who loved you will not rest until justice is served in your death.

2018 US Trans Murder Stats- October

We are a few weeks away from the 2018 TDOR, and as many of you are aware of, I have been keeping track of the trans people we have lost to anti-trans violence since New Year's Day and we first heard about Christa Leigh Steele Knudslein's death. 

As of this writing, 22 people have died in the US due to anti-trans violence since January 1.   This list may get longer between now and New Year's Eve

But here are the stats, tracked from January 1 to now.

2018 Trans Murders

Christa Lee Steele-Knudslien, 47, North Adams, MA
Vickky Gutierrez, 38, Los Angeles, CA
Zakaria Fry, 28,  Albuquerque, NM
Celine Walker, 38,  Jacksonville, FL
Tonya Harvey, 35, Buffalo, NY

Phylicia Mitchell, 45, Cleveland, OH
Amia Tyrae Berryman, 28, Baton Rouge, LA
Sasha Wall, 29, Chesterfield County, SC  
Carla Patricia Flores-Pavon, 26, Dallas, TX
Nino Fortson, 36, Atlanta, GA
Gigi Pierce, 28,  Portland, OR
Antasha English, 38, Jacksonville, FL
Diamond Stephens, 39, Meridian, MS

Catalina Christina James, 24, Jacksonville, FL
Keisha James, 58, Cleveland, OH
Sasha Garden, 27, Orlando, FL
Vontashia Bell, 18, Shreveport, LA
Dejanay Stanton, 24, Chicago, IL
Shantee Tucker, 30, Philadelphia, PA
Londonn Moore Kinard, 20, North Port, FL
Nikki Janelle Enriquez, 28, Laredo, TX Ciara Minaj Carter Frazier, 31, Chicago, IL 2018 Trans Murders Stats Breakdown
Female 20-Male/GNC 1)

By Race
White-3   (3 female-0 male)
Latina-3   (3 female-0 male)
Black -16  (15 female-1 male/GNC)
Asian-0
Native American- 0

By Age
50+  1
40-49  2

30-39  8
20-29  10
10-19- 1

Florida is in 2018 the deadliest state for trans peeps, with five confirmed murders this year.  Three of them occurred in Jacksonville, FL.

Louisiana  (Baton Rouge and Shreveport), Illinois, (both in Chicago), Ohio  (both in Cleveland)  and Texas (Dallas and Laredo) have two each. 

Suspect Arrested In Carla Pavon Murder Case

That was fast!    A suspect has been arrested in the Carla Pavon murder case.

24 year Jimmy Eugene Johnson III of the Houston suburb of Seabrook, TX has been arrested and charged with  murder.   He was detained by Dallas detectives during a traffic stop in Walker County, and investigators found items belonging to Flores-Pavon in his car. 

He was arrested, taken to the Walker County Jail and held on $500,000 bond.  Once the paperwork is completed, he will be taken back to Dallas County to face the legal music from his crimes

Johnson had been corresponding with Pavon online and it was confirmed that he was the person spotted running from her north Dallas area apartment in the Citadel at Preston Complex

Pavon emigrated to the US from Honduras seeking refuge from anti-trans discrimination in her homeland, and had been in Texas for five years .

We are now one step closer to receiving justice for Carla, and seeing that Johnson doesn't serious time for murdering our sister.  . 

BTWI Statement On The Trans Murders In Dallas and Atlanta

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 17, 2018
Contact: Monica Roberts BTWI Media Chair
Carmarion Anderson  BTWI Founding National DirectorDee Dee Watters BTWI Board Chair 
855-255-8636 Ext 11media@blacktranswomen.org

We at Black Transwomen, Inc are dismayed and saddened about the murders of our trans siblings occuring in our headquarters city of Dallas, TX and in Atlanta, GA where we have a BTMI chapter.

Our condolences and warm thoughts go out to the friends and families of Carla Patrica Flores-Pavon, the still unidentified Black trans sister whose body was pulled out of White Rock Creek on May 12, and Nino Fortson.

The Dallas County Medical Examiner's Office is still working to ascertain the cause of death for our unidentified sibling, and once that is determined we will pass that information along as quickly as we receive it.

We also mourn the untimely passing of our Latinx sister Carla Pavon, and thank Ana Andrea Molina and the Organizacion Latina de Trans en Texas (OLTT) for the opportunity to be present at the vigil organized by OLTT for Ms Pavon at the Cathedral of Hope on May 13.

Ms. Pavon was the ninth trans person we have lost to anti-trans violence in the US, and we join OLTT in expressing our desire for the swift capture, prosecution, and punishment of the person who killed Carla so that justice can be served for her family and all who loved her.   

BTWI leadership has been working in close cooperation with the Dallas Police Department to help get accurate information out as expeditiously as possible in these cases.  We are diligently working to ensure that we identify our sister so that the investigation into her death can commence and the perpetrator can be brought to justice. 

In Nino Fortson's case, there are many members of our Atlanta BTMI-BTWI family who knew Nino  personally and are devastated after hearing the news of his tragic May 13 murder.

Fortson was unfortunately the tenth trans person and first trans masculine person killed in 2018, and we mourn his loss as well.   Our transmen also face anti-trans violence aimed at them, and his murder is an unfortunate reinforcement of that reality. 

We at BTWI along with our BTMI brothers in Atlanta and beyond are hoping that the perpetrator of our fallen brother's May 13 murder is swiftly captured and punished for his crime.

RIP TyJanae Moore

While I was doing a Google search to find the TransGriot post I'd written about her back in November 2010. was shocked to stumble across an obituary for her from last year.

TyJanae Moore was in the news back in November 2010 when she was unjustly arrested for simply using the bathroom in the downtown Houston Public Library after a Black cis female security guard called the cops on her. 

The obituary I stumbled across doesn't mention a cause of death, and as you probably guessed it deadnamed her

She was also just 33 years old when she died.   Not only is the question on my mind how did she die, I'm also wanting to know where.  I know thanks to the bare bones obituary when it happened, on November 15, 2017 and I know it happened in her residence in Killeen.

That was a mere 28 days after she celebrated her 33rd birthday on October 17.

The funeral home handling the arrangements was in Copperas Cove, TX,.   So if you know anything about the backstory concerning how she died, let me know.   

Rest in power and peace TyJanae

Vigil For Carla

It would have been nice to not have to spend Mother's Day having to memorialize another one of our fallen trans sisters, but unfortunately that's exactly what we found ourselves doing today in the International Peace Chapel on the campus of the Cathedral of Hope.

It was organized by the Organizacion Latina de Trans en Texas (OLTT) ED Ana Andrea Molina, which has a chapter in the DFW area .

I was invited to speak during this vigil which had Dallas City councilmembers Omar Narvaez and Adam Medrano in attendance, Dallas PD assistant chief David Pughes, Cathedral of Hope senior pastor Rev Neil Cazares-Thomas, Pastor Yinessa Romera and Carla's mother.

In addition to remarks from Rev Cazares-Thomas, Ana Andrea Molina, and Chief Pughes, there were musical selections performed in honor of Carla.

I had an opportunity to briefly talk to Carla's mom's, and she thanked the community for remembering her daughter that she loved dearly. 

I wish I'd gotten a chance to meet Carla.   But unfortunately that's not going to happen.   All we can do now is ensure that Carla and her family receives justice. 

Vigil For Carla Tomorrow

Well TransGriot readers, didn't expect to be back in Dallas this soon. 

I'm back in town to speak at a vigil for Carla Pavon, our sister we just lost way too soon on Wednesday.   

It's being held in the Interfaith peace Chapel on the Cathedral of Hope campus at 5910 Cedar Springs Rd on Sunday starting at 2:30 PM.

Hope we get a nice turnout for it, and see you there . . 

Number 9- Rest In Power Carla Patricia Pavon

Once again it's my sad duty to inform you that we have lost another trans woman due to anti-trans violence.

The location for this latest trans murder is right up I-45 from me in Dallas, TX.   Our sister we lost far too soon is Carla Patricia Flores-Pavon and she was just 26 years old. 

Her two Facebook pages have her name starting with a 'K', but the Dallas PD crime report has it starting with a 'C'.   

According to Dallas Voice reporting by David Taffet, the Dallas PD and Dallas fire department emergency units were called to her apartment in the Citadel at Preston complex at 6104 LBJ Freeway near Preston Rd at 4:17 PM. 

A Latinx male was seen running from her apartment before Dallas fire department emergency response and police units were called.  Her body was found strangled inside her apartment, and she was taken to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead.

DPD confirmed at a 3 PM CDT press conference Pavon died from homicidal violence, but there is according to them there is not enough evidence at this stage to investigate this case as a hate crime. 

Carla is the 9th person we have lost to anti-trans violence this year in the US.  She's the seventh trans person of color and the second trans Latina we have lost in the US in 2018. 

She also the first trans person in Texas we have lost this year.   This murder also is infuriating me not only because it happened in my home state, but because she was just 26 years old. 

She was just beginning to embark on her life journey, and who knows what Carla could have accomplished had she been allowed to simply live her life.

This is still an active DPD investigation, and as of yet there isn't a designated person of interest in this case or any suspects at the time I'm writing this.

I'll update the post as more news becomes available.   If you're in the DFW area and you have any information that will help solve the crime and bring Carla's killer to justice, please call the Dallas Police Department or Dallas Crimestoppers at 214-373-TIPS (8377)   You can also call DPD Detective Tommy Raley at 214- 283- 4856


TransGriot Update:  Age that was written in the DPD report was incorrect according to the recently concluded press conference.   Carla's correct spelling on her name is with a C.  Someone was spotted running from her apartment prior to Dallas police and fire department emergency response units being called. 

If a vigil is being planned, will pass on that information.    Post has been updated as of 3:45 PM CDT to reflect the latest info 

     :

Fayetteville, AR Police Investigating Death Of Trans Woman

Last night I received a tip from an area TransGriot reader concerning the death of a 28 year old trans woman in the Fayetteville, AR area named Amrita Tehuti Mekti 

The reader sent me the message because they were concerned that so far no media outlet in the Fayetteville area (home city of the University of Arkansas) is covering the story. The Fayetteville PD have so far been tight lipped about what they know in this developing case.
This media story popped up only after I posted the initial tweet last night concerning this case. Back to discussing our fallen sister. Amrita was well known and loved in the Fayetteville area trans and GNC community, and loved supernatural and sci-fi stories.  
According to the Facebook post of the inTRANSitive group,
Amrita was a loving presence at every inTRANSitive event, fed the community at their weekly dinners at St. Martin’s Episcopal Center, attended almost every demonstration or protest in the  Fayetteville area, and has a special space in the hearts of many people across and beyond the Fayetteville area 

She was found dead in her apartment at The Gables complex at 1526 Oakland Ave. there following a welfare check on Monday after being missing a week . The details of her death are currently unknown and under investigation. An investigation that if foul play is involved, the community wants to see justice expeditiously happen for Amrita and all who loved her.

There were no signs of suicide, and her body is being sent to a crime lab in Little Rock for an autopsy. If it is confirmed that she was indeed murdered, she would unfortunately become the ninth person lost this year in the US due to anti-trans violence She would also saly become the sixth Black trans person and seventh trans POC murdered in the US this year.

Rest in power and peace Amrita, we lost you way too soon.

#BlackTransLIvesMatter #SayHerName TransGriot Update: The autopsy ruled out foul play in Amrita's death...