Islan Nettles Rally And The Lingering Questions After It

Something else that was happening while I was busy hosting 4000 of our TBLG family and allies in H-town last week was a January 30 New York rally demanding action on the Islan Nettles case.

When we last checked in on the case the Manhattan DA dropped misdemeanor assault charges against Paris Wilson, the person who was pulled off of Nettles by the police. because the speedy trial prosecution clock had run out and to ostensibly pursue more serious charges in this case. 

Well, the New York trans community isn't staying silent about this, they want justice for Islan like all of us do.  There was a December 20 meeting of New York City trans leaders headed by Laverne Cox and Brooke Cerda Guzman and various organizations facilitated by the New York Anti-Violence Project with the Manhattan DA.. 

Over 100 people including Janet Mock showed up for a January 30 rally at One Police Plaza organized by the Trans Women of Color Collective of New York (TWOCC) to keep the public pressure on NYPD and the Manhattan DA's office, keep the case in the public eye, and prod them into speedier action to solve the Nettles case. 

“Having survived a violent assault, I know what a struggle it can be to get justice in NY. Not one of my attackers was charged - and I was almost treated by the police as though I deserved to be assaulted,” says Madison St. Claire, Co-Chair of Membership for TWOCC. “Now, the same thing is happening in the Islan Nettles case - and that sends the wrong message: that trans women of color are disposable - that our lives don’t matter.” says St Claire. “Today, we send our own message NYPD and the DA’s office: TRANS LIVES MATTER!”

TWOCC activists have pointed out some troubling issues and things that make you go hmm concerns surrounding the Nettles case.  TWOCC has accused the NYPD and the Manhattan District Attorney's office of negligence and mishandling of this investigation that is leading to fear in the NY transfeminine community that a perpetrator of violence against us will get away with it.

It was revealed by TWOCC that no DNA evidence was collected from Paris Wilson at the scene of the crime, nor were witnesses rigorously questioned. Nor has it been satisfactorily explained why Simone Wilson, the suspect’s mother, was never held accountable or charged for hindering prosecution or falsifying evidence when she persuaded a friend of her son to make a false confession which was later recanted.

And perhaps in a statement that strains credibility, the DA’s office is claiming that all 10 surveillance cameras in the vicinity of the beating that lead to Islan Nettles’ death on that August 17 night were broken.

There have also been questions raised by transpeople in the NY area and nationally about what exactly is the Rev Al Sharpton's and the National Action Network's stance concerning the Nettles case and trans human rights in general.  

NAN held a December 7 panel discussion moderated by Dominique Sharpton entitled 'My Brothers Keeper' at NAN's Harlem headquarters that included trans panelists Sean Coleman, Arisce Wanzer and Kimberly Howard.  But the forum has not quieted the trans community asking this legitimate question in light of the fact the vicious attack on Islan occurred mere blocks from NAN's Harlem headquarters.

So will keep you TransGriot readers posted on the latest developments in the Nettles case as I receive them.

Goodbye, Minister Bobbie Jean

The homegoing service for our gone too soon sister Minister Bobbie Jean Baker happened in Oakland today, and I am happy to hear the reports from my West Coast peeps that the church was full and our sister got the sendoff she deserved..

I was hoping as a tribute to her the sanctuary at First Congregational Oakland UCC would be filled, and I presume a lot of othe rpeople in the Bay Area felt that way, too

I know I'm going to miss chatting with her like everyone else whose life she touched, but we are comforted in the knowledge that Heaven has gained another angel.

Rest in power, Bobbie Jean.  Know that we will continue to fight  for the liberation and the human rights of our people.   Know also that your ministerial colleagues will pick up the torch that you left behind, raise it high and carry it forward

Know that you were loved by me and every person you ever touched in our community, and we'll see you on the other side.

Homegoing Services For Minister Bobbie Jean Baker January 11

For those of you who may not have heard the tragic news, our West Coast sister Minister Bobbie Jean Baker was killed in a hit and run accident January 1 after attending a New Year's Eve watch service.

Here's the information about the homegoing service for those of you on the Left Coast who want to pay your last respects to our sister who was very active in the trans* faith community.

It will be officiated by Bishop Yvette Flunder and take place next Saturday, January 11 at First Congregational Oakland UCC starting at 1 PM PST.

Address of the church is 2501 Harrison St, Oakland, CA.

For those of you in the Bay Area whose lives she touched, I hope you will consider attending and being there in body for those of us who would like to be there but can only do so in spirit.

Let's fill that sanctuary up as a tribute to her and in honor of her years spent in service to our community

If there are any updates to the story, I will pass them along as soon as I get them.
 

Minister Bobbie Jean Baker 1962-2014

Many of us are still shocked and stunned about the news we received yesterday concerning our Left Coast sister Minister Bobbie Jean Baker.   She was killed in an auto accident by a hit and run driver after attending watch services. 

Word about the homegoing service, their location and date is still pending.   I will get that info to you TransGriot readers as soon as it is passed on to me.

In the interim, one of my readers, Oliver W. Martin III, sent me a link to a YouTube memorial montage revscott06 created about our dearly departed sister.

Brandon Teena Murder 20th Anniversary

Today marks the 20th anniversary of the murder of  transman Brandon Teena along with Lisa Lambert and Phillip DeVine in Humboldt, NE in the early morning hours of December 31, 1993.

As many of you know this incident was the subject of a 1998 documentary and was covered a year later in the 1999 biopic Boys Don't Cry.

At the time of this heinous murder I was less than four months from starting my own transition.  It affected me and many other trans advocates of the time, and was another one of those seminal community moments.   The shock and anger of us over what happened to Teena galvanized the trans community into action.  We not only wanted to enure that John Lotter and Tom Nissen, the perpetrators of this crime were punished for it.

Lotter and Nissen were indeed convicted and sentenced in separate 1995 trials for the rape and murder of Teena.   Nissen, in exchange for a reduced sentence testified against Lotter, who was convicted and sentenced to death for the crime and is still on Nebraska's death row.   Lotter escaped the death penalty, but is still doing time for his part in the New Year's Eve triple slaying.  

In the wake of Teena's death, the trans community not only accelerated the process of raising our collective voices about the issues that affected us, we added the passage of trans inclusive hate crimes legislation to the human rights to-do list for our community.
 

NY Islan Nettles Case Meeting

TransGriot Note:  From the New York City Anti-Violence Project (AVP)

On December 20 trans community leaders Laverne Cox and Brooke Cerda Guzman, along with representatives from the Audre Lorde Project’s Trans Justice and the New York City Anti-Violence Project (AVP) met with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office regarding the Islan Nettles investigation after misdemeanor charges were dropped against Paris Wilson on November 19, 2013. 

Islan Nettles was attacked on August 17 in Harlem by an individual or group of individuals shouting anti-transgender slurs.  Ms. Nettles was taken to Harlem Hospital for her injuries and on Thursday August 22, was taken off of life support and died.

At the meeting, community leaders spoke about their concerns about the real danger that transgender women of color face in New York City and the need for the District Attorney’s Office to prioritize violence against transgender women of color.  The District Attorney’s Office assured community leaders that the Islan Nettles case remains a top priority and that they were doing everything in their power to move the investigation forward.  The group also spoke about ways in which the District Attorney’s Office and transgender women of color could work together to create safety and highlight the disproportionate impact of violence in transgender and gender non-conforming communities.

The Anti Violence Project (AVP) will continue to work with transgender community leaders and the District Attorney’s Office on the Islan Nettles case and on issues of safety for all transgender women of color in New York City.

AVP stands with transgender women of color, our allies, community members and community leaders in saying we will not be silent about the violence faced by transgender women and transgender women of color in our city.  In September 2013, at AVP’s Courage Awards, Laverne Cox called the violence against transgender women of color “a state of emergency,” and it is exactly that, both here in New York City and across the nation.  The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) most recent report, Hate Violence Against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and HIV-Affected Communities in the United States in 2012, documented 25 anti-LGBTQ murders.  73.1% of all anti-LGBTQ homicide victims in 2012 were people of color and 53.8% were transgender women.

So far this year we know of 14 transgender women nationally who have been victims of homicide.  In many of these cases, no motive is known, and we are concerned about the pace of investigations, the serial misgendering of the victims by police and media, and by a lack of public awareness about these tragic deaths.

 REPORTING VIOLENCE HELPS TO END VIOLENCE
AVP encourages you to report violence you experience or witness to our free and confidential 24-hour bilingual (English/Spanish) hotline at 212-714-1141 where you can speak with a trained counselor and seek support, or you can report violence anonymously online at http://avp.org/get-help/report-violence.

Rev. Al, Where You At On The Islan Nettles Case And Trans Rights In General?

I have much love for the Rev. Al Sharpton as a human rights warrior, and don't miss his MSNBC show Politics Nation when it comes on at 5 PM CST.  

He has been a standup ally for the same gender loving (SGL) end of the community, but I'm curious to find out along with other people in the African descended trans community where does Rev. Al stand when it comes to trans human rights?

This question became more valid in the ongoing developments in the Islan Nettles case.   

Nettles was attacked by transphobic thugs on the corner of W. 148th St. and Frederick Douglass Boulevard, mere blocks away from the Harlem headquarters of the Sharpton founded and headed National Action Network on W. 145th St.   The organization had been silent on this case as local trans women and Delores Nettles, the mother of Islan have demanded justice be served for this senseless murder.

In the meantime, as the clock ticks toward the dawning of a new year, a message is being sent that the lives of transwomen of color in New York City don't matter as long as Paris Wilson, or whoever the alleged perpetrator of this transphobic hate crime is not sitting in a jail cell.

We also had New York attorney John Scarpa basically saying trans lives don't matter in open court while defending his client Rasheen Everett.  Fortunately the judge in the case thought otherwise and he is getting called out by organizations and various people for the anti-trans remarks. 

In defense of Rev. Al, I'm aware that he and the National Action Network don't get involved in cases unless they are invited to do so by the families of the victims. 

So based on that knowledge, have to respectfully ask the next question of the New York trans community.   Have you or Delores Nettles talked to people at the National Action Network and asked them or 'the Rev' to get involved?

If Ms. Nettles or the local trans community have done so, then the onus shifts back to the National Action Network and Rev. Sharpton, and you can legitimately ask the question and get righteously indignant New York trans community about why NAN or the Rev haven't gotten involved.  

It also opens the door to asking the followup questions of where does Rev. Sharpton and by extension the National Action Network stand when it comes to this case, decrying the horrific levels of homicidal anti-trans violence aimed at trans women of color and the human rights of trans women in general?  

The trans community of New York City, the nation, the TransGriot and the world are awaiting your answer to those questions.

TransGriot Update.  Seems as though the answer to the first question I asked in this post is that Rev. Al and the National Action Network are aware of the Nettles case.   There was a December 7 panel discussion moderated by Dominique Sharpton entitled 'My Brothers Keeper' at NAN's Harlem headquarters that included trans panelists Sean Coleman, Arisce Wanzer and Kimberly Howard.  

My Remarks To The Cleveland TBLG Community Rally

There is a vigil and community meeting taking place in Cleveland as I post this and I was asked to submit some remarks to be read at it.

Here they are.

***  

To my Cleveland trans family, allies, family and friends of our fallen transsisters, and our supporters.

I wish I could be there at this moment to give you a comforting hug, help dry your tears, and stand in solidarity with you.  But my words will have to be an inadequate substitute for my physical presence at this time.

On behalf of myself, the trans community of Texas, the national and international trans community, we wish to express our deepest condolences for the loss of two of our Cleveland sisters. We offer our prayers and express our hopes that the perpetrators of these foul deeds will be caught and justice in these cases will be swift, fair and expeditiously served.

Once again as you gather in Cleveland to mourn the senseless loss of two of our trans sisters, you do so in the wake of media misgendering and disrespect robbing one of them of the dignity and the personhood they fought so hard to establish in their lives.

The deceased deserved better. So do the transpeople who are in the area struggling to live their day to day lives. And once again one of our two departed sisters lives was snuffed out before she had a chance to fully live it.

When will this carnage stop? How many more trans lives have to be lost to anti-trans violence before the Cleveland community says enough and shows through deeds and words that the lives of ALL its citizens are valued?

If there is anything that needs to happen in the wake of these senseless deaths, it is that the time has come to embrace the Cleveland trans community and ensure they become loved and valued members of the community, not shunned and disrespected afterthoughts.

May the upcoming New Year see this happen for my transfamily in Cleveland and beyond its city limits.

Sincerely,
Your sister in the struggle
Monica Roberts
The TransGriot

Ashley Sinclair's Alleged Killer Arrested

The New Year will hopefully see justice for Ashley Sinclair. 

News out of Orlando, FL is that after an eight month investigation, someone has finally been arrested and charged for her April 4 murder.

22 year old Kentz V. Louis has been arrested by Orange County deputies and charged with first degree murder in this case.

Louis and Sinclair were acquaintances according to deputies, but they haven't released at this time a motive for the shooting that happened in a wooded area of Orange County off Nimrod Lane in the early morning hours of April 4.

Let's hope and pray the Orange County detectives got their man.   Let's also hope and pray that for the sake of Ashley, her family and all who loved her that Louis is expeditiously tried, found guilty and be spending a long time locked up in Florida's penal system for this heinous crime.

Will definitely be keeping an eye on this case until justice is served for our departed trans sister. 

Cleveland TBLG Community Rally On Sunday

Been advised by Zoe Lapin that a community rally to discuss the trans murders of Brittany Kidd-Stergis and Betty Skinner, the latest outbreak of racist Cleveland media transphobia and other issues of importance in the local trans community will take place at Trinity Cathedral on Sunday,  December 15. 

Trinity Cathedral is located at 2230 Euclid Avenue in Cleveland and the event will start at 1:00 PM EST.  

What I am hoping for is that this event will be as diverse as the city of Cleveland is, and will feature someone from the local African American trans community to represent the people who are taking the brunt of the anti-trans hate crimes.  

I hope this does not turn into another event where white faces are the predominant ones we see all over the news, the media and the Net speaking, and irritatingly once again the Black trans community people who are the ones doing the dying, their representatives, leaders and local community leadership voices are shut out, ignored and the bodies of our dead are used once again to push somebody else's rainbow agenda.

In the runup to organizing this event, I hope and pray the organizers keep the I-words inclusion and intersectionality in their vocabularies and don't ignore the Black trans community as they put together this community rally.  

The Cleveland trans community has people besides white trans men who can eloquently speak for it.. Call them and invite them to the podium to speak for their fallen transsister who can no longer do so and their community. 


That being said, hoping for a large, diverse turnout and speakers at that rally reflecting the diversity of the Cleveland TBLG community.  I also hope for a frank discussion that takes place in that space which begins to address the frustration that I hear privately from many Black transpeople in the area about the state of the LGBT community in Cleveland, Ohio.   Their anger is mounting about their marginalization in it combined with the anti-trans violence being aimed at them and needs to be heard and dealt with. 

So Much For Our Trans Murder and Trans Hate Free Holiday

Well, so much for our trans murder and trans hate free holiday in the United States and elsewhere around the world. 

Transfofa em Blog's Eduarda Santos is keeping up with the grisly task of documenting all the trans murders happening in Brazil and elsewhere in Europe.   I'm sad (and pissed off to report) that one has already occurred in Brazil this month during the holiday period with Agata de Melo being found shot to death.

And I was hopeful we'd be able to go at least a little deeper into the holiday season before I'd have to start reporting on anti-trans murders or transphobic idiocy being aimed at us.

We've also had one in the United States as well.  


Zoe Lapin passed the word to me yesterday that a home healthcare worker found 52 year old Betty Janet Skinner dead in her apartment early Thursday morning with severe head injuries. 

Cleveland Police say Skinner was physically disabled, required assisted living and received regular home health care.   She was last seen alive by her home health care worker when she left the Devonshire Road apartment of our fallen trans sister at 10 PM EST Wednesday night.

Unfortunately ther are no witnesses or suspects at this time in the Skinner case.   Police are asking if you do have information in this case to please call the CPD Homicide Unit at 216-623-5464.

And yeah, transphobic Colorado school board member Kathy Svenson continues to spread her special brand of trans hate for the holidays.  

She's not only  not backing down from her faith based conservaignorance around trans issues, but is doubling down on it by stating that she doesn't believe trans people exist?

Bless Kathy's little transphobic heart.   Hon, hate to intrude on your delusional world, but we transpeople most certainly do exist.   Matthew 19:12 will verify that for you along with a few other scriptures and even your boy Pat Robertson. .   

You can deny it all you want, but we transpeople are definitely part of the diverse mosaic of human life.

Now where's my egg nog?   And I'm definitely going to need something else stronger to mix with it this time.

2013 TDOR's Around The World

(TransGriot Note)  from 2013 TDOR in Myanmar.

The 2013 cycle of TDOR's came to a close around November 24, and the photos from those events are being posted in various spots around The Net.   While we can debate about whether the TDOR memorials are 'too somber', one thing that isn't up for discussion is that the 238 people who died due to anti-trans violence need to be remembered and there needs to be an end to the unacceptable levels of violence aimed at our people.

We also need to redouble our efforts toward bringing change in our various nations that gives them hope for the future and reduces the intolerably high suicide rates for transpeople to zero.  

Let's never forget the people who died this year and in previous years as we continue to work toward a world that will make the TDOR's obsolete.

Turkey




New York, NY, USA




Louisville, KY, USA



Rome, Italy



Manchester, UK



Dallas, TX, USA 

Celebrating Transgender Day Of Remembrance In Malaysia?

Trans advocate Yuki Choe was the main speaker for the inaugural Transgender Day of Remembrance memorial event organized in Malaysia in 2008 by fellow activist Thilaga Sulathireh.   Choe has organized TDOR's in Malaysia following the principle that it is an international trans memorial service laid out by TDOR founder Gwen Smith from 2009-2012.

But this year's Malaysian TDOR event was problematic for her.  

Just like here in the United States, there have been some Malaysian transpeople who have complained the TDOR's are 'too somber' and need to be 'more festive'.  I've commented on that irritating 'more festive TDOR' point more than a few times on TransGriot, and now Yuki Choe will have her opportunity to do the same.   

In this guest post, Choe makes the case that the organizers of the 2013 TDOR event in her nation went too far in that festive direction.  By doing so, they disrespected the memory of not only the local Malaysian trans women who were killed this year like Dicky Othman, but all the people around the world we lost due to anti-trans violence. 

TransGriot Update 4 December 2013:  Well well, seems like somebody in Malaysia was pissed off about Yuki's guest post spotlighting the jacked up TDOR they had.   They complained and got the pics of their disrespectful TDOR event removed from this blog post.   

But that's okay, still doesn't change the fact that people around the world already saw them and are talking about how you disrespected the memory of Dicky Othman and other trans women who lost their lives around the world this year to anti-trans violence with your travesty of a TDOR. 

And because you pissed me the hell off with that nekulturny move, you're officially on my bad side and Yuki Choe has an open invitation to guest post here anytime she wishes.   

And now, here's Yuki

***

Imagine this scenario. In an unknown state, there was a year-long mass murder happening. 238 people were reported dead, while countless others were missing. The local church decided to start a memorial on the 20th of November, where they announced each of the 238 known names of the dead, along with a candlelight vigil, and begin discussions on how to stop the violent killings. Everyone, including the founder, decided it would be a day to remember the dead and the dead only.

Then someone decided to run the same event on a later date on the 29th of November, decided to invite some pretty girls to dance, gave out some awards to courageous councilmen who were nowhere to be found when the murders happen, promoted and raised funds for the group, and only mustered up 29 names out of the 238 who died.

You do not make a mockery out of your family’s funeral, memorial, wake, or whatever form to grief. Sadly, this happened recently in one country, Malaysia.

A week before the programme was announced, concerns were raised up to the fact that at a time of worldwide mourning for the dead of Transgender Day Of Remembrance (TDOR), a group comprising of members from PT Foundation (a local AIDS prevention organization) and Justice For Sisters (a local trans group) decided to change the principles of TDOR and added several features that draws power away from the voices of our dead, which includes award ceremonies for three trans personalities, a drag queen dance performance and promotional efforts to aid Justice For Sisters.

One even acknowledged in social media that all the names of the dead from the TGEU Monitoring Project website will be announced during the candlelight vigil of the event.

In the end, when the event was held last Friday, two sources confirmed to me that only 29 were named, leaving 209 trans people thrown under the bus for the sake of self-promotion. Worse, one of their supporters who goes by the name Ineza claimed “it was empowering for everyone who attended”. 

Therein, lies the problem - you are not supposed to feel empowered during TDOR. You are supposed to be in grief, and seek solutions to aid recovery.

From a recent FaceBook discussion, this is not the first time TDOR became an event less focused on the dead; Peterson Toscano said, “ I have heard this happen elsewhere. There is such a need to face the hard tragic realities of violence against trans and gender non-conforming people. But not as just a memorial, but also as a time and place to commit to resist and work for justice and a better world. But TDOR is a somber event, a tragic, awful one and one that demands we feel the weight of it.”

But should there be room for people to revise TDOR into a less morbid event? Monica Roberts commented, “Since TDOR founder Gwen Smith is a friend, we stay in contact, and I was around in the community at the 1999 outset of the TDOR events.  They were always meant to be memorial services. What people have done over the last few years is to have other trans education events leading up to November 20. That's fine if you do trans themed panel discussions, trans themed movie nights, lectures, or community forums. 

But dances, drag shows and pageants? Not no but HELL no. You have 364 other days on the calendar to do those. November 20 should be a day where we remember our dead, use that day as an opportunity for our allies in the gay, lesbian, bi and straight communities to join us and build intersectional community links to build future political and cultural progress upon.”

This writer agrees that to add other elements such as award ceremonies and drag shows, or replacing the principles of TDOR especially removing a huge bulk of the names to be announced for convenience, tortures the soul of what makes TDOR such an important event, and it should not be defaced by promoting people and organizations of the living.

But could people be allowed to change TDOR, to perk it up so it would not be too sombre or for many, boring?

Some folks do bring alcoholic drinks and sexy girls to funerals to be jolly, so should TDOR be “celebrated” like it was this year in Malaysia?

Yuki Choe is a lone transsexual advocate and ex-gay survivor, organizing TDOR events in Malaysia from 2009-2012 and the main speaker for the first TDOR organized by activist Thilaga Sulathireh in 2008, following the TDOR guiding principles. There have been trans murders yearly in her country.

Stories from previous Malaysian TDORs:

2008: http://tiltedworld.org/2008/12/04/we-will-remember/
2009: http://www.exgaywatch.com/2009/11/malaysia-report-transgender-day-of-remembrance/

2010: http://www.fridae.asia/newsfeatures/printable.php?articleid=10461

2012: http://www.fridae.asia/newsfeatures/2012/12/11/12104.a-death-religion-and-the-transgender-day-of-remembrance

No Justice For Islan, For Now

To remind everyone that sometimes we don't get justice when our haters kill us (which fuels the anti-trans violence because the perps believe they can get away with it)) we had the concrete example of the Islan Nettles case. 

20 year old Paris Wilson, who was arrested and charged with misdemeanor assault in the savage fatal beating of 21 year old Nettles in Harlem that put her in a coma for several days before she died, walked out of Manhattan Criminal Court yesterday a free man for now.  The Manhattan DA's were forced to drop the charges because the case was older than 90 days and the speedy trial clock had run out

According to a report in the New York Daily News,  Assistant District Attorney Nicholas Viorst said "we would concede that speedy trial time has run with regard to the misdemeanor with which the defendant is charged and therefore the case must be dismissed," but said the probe into Nettles' tragic death remains active.

While the New York trans community and Islan's mother Delores Nettles are obviously disappointed and upset about what transpired in the courtroom yesterday, they remain resolute and hopeful that justice will be served in this case. 

And you know I'll be keep an eye on it along with the New York trans community. 

Thinking About The Girls Like Us Who Didn't Get A TDOR Memorial

I had a nice conversation with Gwendolyn Smith yesterday evening (yes, THE Gwen Smith who conceived the TDOR memorial ceremonies and the Remembering Our Dead List).

We talked about a few issues including what it is like being the iconic legendary leaders instead of the wide eyed neophytes we once were back in the 90's.


For a moment our conversation turned to the state of the Transgender Day of Remembrance memorial 15 years later.   After we had that conversation about how we're still doing these events a decade and a half later and marveled at the progress of our human rights movement, she complimented me on the 238 Names post.  

After thanking her, I made the comment about how I wish I'd mentioned something in that post about the trans women who died pre-TDOR.

So I'm going to do that right now. And yeah, there's some trigger warning worthy stuff in this post.

I'm going to talk about a few trans women who were killed and didn't get their names read at a TDOR memorial.  In some cases their murders were just as graphic, just as filled with mind-numbing rage, over the top violence and transphobic hatred.   They were also murders in which the victims left behind people who loved them unconditionally and cared about them. 

There was the 1980 murder of Georgette Hart.   She was born in Charlestown, and was called 'the most beautiful drag queen in Boston'.

After leaving a bar in the Charlestown area, she was found dead with her throat slashed. But the waste (or wastes) of DNA didn't stop there.  The perpetrator also found the time to mutilate her by cutting off her penis and stuffing it in her mouth before running over her with a car.

There's Terri Williams Moore, who was shot in the head and back by her husband Richard in Lynnville, Iowa on the way back from their honeymoon in May 1976.  She revealed during their honeymoon she'd had SRS and was trans.

I've talked on the blog about Chanelle Pickett's murder 18 years ago today on November 20,1995 in which her killer, William Palmer basically got a slap on the wrist for it.   Her twin sister Gabrielle, who she appeared with on Jenny Jones to discuss being a trans twin, was herself murdered in March 2003.

Speaking of trans twin sisters, Cynthia and Felicia Coffman of Nashville, TN. were both shot to death on July 24, 1977 by Dan Edward Jones.

Leslie Rejeanne, the south side Chicago girl and co-host of the female illusionist shows at The Baton who was one of the first African-American transpeople I saw publicly talk on television about transgender issues.  She appeared on Donahue, Oprah and countless other talk shows during the late 80's-early 90's and  was killed by a hit and run driver.


Debra Forte, the aunt of Ethan St Pierre, who for several years helped maintain the Remembering Our Dead List stats and the list. 

Debra was stabbed by Michael Thompson multiple times with six inch deep wounds in her chest along with being beaten around the head and shoulders on May 15, 1995.   How Ethan did that for all those years I still commend him for considering the circumstances.


Dianne Aubert, who was stabbed 121 times in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada on February 16, 1982.

Crystal Sanchez-Reyes, who died on Christmas Day 1987 because the man who shot her six times at point blank range, Daniel Montenegro Delgado, was upset she was dancing with his brother. 

There was an unnamed transwoman bludgeoned to death in San Antonio in 1991 who body was found partially burned.

Those of you who have seen Paris Is Burning know about the death of Venus Xtravaganza Pellagatti, who was found strangled and stuffed under the bed of a New York City hotel room on December 21, 1988 before the filming of the documentary was completed.     

It's just a small sample of long list of names of people who paid the ultimate price for simply wanting to be their true selves.

And on this day when we will be reading the names and memorializing the people who died due to anti-trans violence in 2013,  I also wanted us to take a moment to think about and never forget the back in the day  girls like us who were killed and didn't get the benefit of a TDOR memorial service.

238 Names

Once again trans* people all over the world and our allies are gathering at Transgender Day of Remembrance memorial events to solemnly remember the people we lost to anti- trans violence since we last tearfully gathered to do so. 

In addition to this being the 15th anniversary of the Transgender Day of Remembrance memorials that were conceptualized by Gwendolyn Smith in the wake of Rita Hester’s murder, we will be marking on November 20 it being one year since trans teen Sage Smith disappeared after departing her home to meet someone at the Charlottesville, VA Amtrak station. 

This year we’ll be reading 238 predominately Black and Latina names as we gather in our TDOR venues, light candles, say our prayers, give our speeches, and decompress from grieving about the people we’ve lost after these worldwide15th anniversary Transgender Day of Remembrance memorials conclude. 

And we’re fed up with doing so.

We’re fed up with reading the names of so many young trans* women and sadly a few trans* men this year who will never get to experience another birthday.   Far too many of them who were killed this year were under the age of 35.

We’re fed up with contemplating the disturbing fact some of the names we’ll be reading during these TDOR memorials hadn’t even made it to age 21 yet.

We’re fed up in the African-American and Latin@ trans* communities of far too many of our people dying and our politicians, clergy and media pundits being cricket chirping silent about it.

We’re fed up with legislative inaction on the human rights laws it’s painfully obvious trans* people need at the local, state and federal levels as a wide range of people from trans exclusionary radical feminists to right-wing politicians gleefully spread disinformation and lies to roll back or retard our progress.

We’re fed up with our people dying and our people choosing suicide over life because you transphobic cisgender haters have made it so hostile and uncomfortable for them to live.

But sadly we’ll probably be gathering next November 20 at locations around the globe to read another 200 plus names of people killed because of anti-transgender violence.

And we’ll gather because for the sake of the people who died trying to living their lives as their authentic selves, we must.   

As one of the lines in the 1955 South African Freedom Charter states, ‘Our struggle is also a struggle of memory against forgetting.”

We cannot allow ourselves as a community to forget how and why these 238 people and the ones who have preceded them over the last fifteen years of organized TDOR memorials died. 

We cannot allow ourselves to forget that trans* rights are a human rights issue not just in this nation but around the world.  We must do whatever it takes to ensure that trans* people here and around the world can live their lives free of fear and wrap themselves in the security blanket of freedom and justice. 

We also cannot forget the price that was paid in the blood of our fallen trans* sisters and trans* brothers.  Their lives mattered then, their lives mattered to the people who loved them unconditionally and their lives matter to us who mourn their passing.

We as their trans* brothers and sisters and our allies also cannot forget that it is up to us to ensure that the 238 trans” people who died this year and memorialize on this day did not do so in vain. 

Yes, the moral arc of the universe is bending toward justice for trans* people but the people who died will sadly not experience the unbridled joy of that inevitable day. 

TDOR exists to remind us that it’s time for us to remember our dead, pull together as a community and comfort each other.  It is a memorial day, and if you think it’s ‘too somber’, too bad.  There are 364 other days on the calendar for you to do your partying and November 20 or the TDOR will never be an appropriate time for you to do so.  

As we work to eradicate anti-trans violence causing these senseless murders and waste of human life and potential, we remember our dead, wipe away our tears, and dry our weeping eyes.  We replace sadness and grief with a steely resolve to work for that sunny day of freedom and justice for all trans* people and make the TDOR’s obsolete.

And we want to make that day happen as expeditiously as possible

Moni's Busy TDOR 2013 Week

The 15th annual observance of the Transgender Day of Remembrance officially happens on November 20, but the trend over the last few years has been to build informational programs around the observance of the day especially if that date doesn't fall on a weekend. 

With the official TDOR date falling on Wednesday this year, that has been the case with many locales having events starting last week and continuing through this Sunday.

Because of my status in Trans World, I do get the honor and privilege of being invited from time to time to take part in a wide variety of TDOR events including keynote speeches.  

The arrival of TDOR 2013 means as usual I'm going to be a little busy during this runup to November 20.  

I have a TDOR themed article I'm writing that's due Tuesday.  I woke up this morning to do a radio interview on Canadian radio station CHRW 94.9 FM that I'll post to the blog when it's available.  There's a local TDOR event in Houston I'm participating in near the TSU campus that starts at 7 PM on Wednesday, then I  get up early to travel to San Antonio for a TDOR event in San Antonio I'm speaking at Thursday evening . 

So if I'm going to see The Best Man Holiday this week, better be an early morning matinee.

TDOR Unite! Online TDOR Ceremony Tomorrow

The official Transgender Day Of Remembrance observance happens on Wednesday, but tomorrow starting at at 9 PM Eastern / 8 PM Central / 7 PM Mountain / 6 PM Pacific time (US) the first annual online Transgender Day of Remembrance memorial service will take place.

The theme this year is Our Lives Are Valuable and the goals of this service are to remember the lives we lost to anti-trans violence this past year, comfort and support each other and affirm that our lives as trans human beings are valuable.

The event was created by the TDOR Unite! coalition and hosted by the Church of the Larger Fellowship, a Unitarian Universalist congregation without walls, in partnership with Standing on the Side of Love.

The groundbreaking livestreaming event will also be available to those of you who have mobile devices as well.  www.livestream.com/questformeaning

Mobile devices link:
www.livestream.com/questformeaning2

The Opening Invocation for the online TDOR event will be by Lynn Young with reflections offered by Ignacio Rivera, Carter Brown, Pauline Park, and Bamby Salcedo

The Artistic Expressions during this first annual event will be provided by KOKUMO, Tona Brown, Arjuna Greist, Christian Axavier Lovehall, Cherno Biko, Monica Stevens Yorkman, and others.

So mark your calendars and check out this first annual online event tomorrow in your time zone.
  

Andrey Bridges Sentenced In Cemia Dove Acoff Murder

Last week Andrey Bridges was convicted by a Cuyahoga County jury after a ten day trial of killing 20 year old Cemia Dove Acoff.   Today he was back in Judge Hollie L Gallagher's court at 11 AM EST to find out what his sentence would be.

The 36 year old Bridges was sentenced to life imprisonment for his convictions on murder, felonious assault, tampering with evidence and abuse of a corpse and will be eligible for parole in 2034.

While Bridges will be going back into the Ohio penal system again for an extended stay this time, it still doesn't bring back Cemia for all who loved her

“She was a ray of sunshine. She was really, really sweet; very, very positive; very pretty,” said Tracy Jones, CEO of the AIDS Task Force of Greater Cleveland in a FOX 8 report.

And local Cleveland activists are making sure that their paper of record, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, never leads the charge to grossly disrespect another trans person in the area like they massively did in Cemia's case.

Justice was served in this case, but I would be willing to bet that everyone who loved Cemia would rather see her smiling face interacting in their lives and an immediate end to our young trans women being murdered

Rasheen Everett Convicted In Amanda Gonzalez Andujar Murder

We've been on a roll lately in terms of justice being served for our fallen transsisters around the country.

You can add 32 year old Rasheen Everett's name to the list of wastes of DNA who killed trans women and are going to do serious time (we hope) for it.

Everett was arrested in Las Vegas back on April 9, 2010 for the March 27 killing of 29 year old Amanda Gonzalez Andujar in her Queens apartment and had been held without bail since his arrest. 

He was caught on video entering Gonzalez Andujar's apartment building at 8:50 AM ET and after strangling her to death, poured bleach over her body and left 18 hours later carrying two bags that contained her keys, suitcase, laptop, cellphone, camera and coat. 

He then departed New York on a three day bus ride to Las Vegas where he was later arrested by NYPD homicide detectives.

Everett was charged with second degree murder, second degree burglary and tampering with physical evidence.   The trial lasted four weeks in Queens Supreme Court Justice Richard L Buchter's court with the jury finding him guilty of all three charges on November 8.

Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said in a press release, "The defendant stands convicted of violently taking the life of another human being in her own home and then tampering with the body in an attempt to escape justice. Such a vicious act of violence demonstrates that this defendant is a threat to society and deserving of a lengthy prison sentence." 

So how much time is Everett facing for this heinous crime?  He's looking at 40 years to life in prison and will be sentenced by Judge Buchter on December 5, 2013.

So New York trans community, if you can make it on that day, you may wish to do so to support the family of our fallen Latina trans sister and witness justice being served.