6 Black Trans And Gender-Nonconforming People Killed In The U.S. Last Month

Tragically, last month saw six Black transgender and gender-nonconforming people killed in states across the U.S. according to Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents - which tracks information about trans, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming people who have died by violence.

Skylar Harrison’s aunt, Rhonda Hailes described her niece to the Washington Blade as “a beautiful beacon of life. She could have been in the darkest room and shined it bright.” On October 2, the 30-year-old (also known as Skylar Harrison Reeves) was found dead in a Washington, DC, park.

The Blade reported that police had told Hailes, that they believe Harrison may have died as the result of an overdose. But Hailes said that the state in which Harrison was found led her to believe her niece was murdered. “It was a hate crime,” Hailes said.

According to ‘LGBTQ Nation’, in Milwaukee, police have charged a 29-year-old man with the October 8 murder of Chyna Long. The 30-year-old choreographer was shot multiple times in what her father, Jonathan Long, characterised as a hate crime. Long’s aunt, Alissa Davenport, said her niece’s killer “took a piece of our joy.”

Image Credit: Canva

“Once she became who she wanted to be, which is Chyna, she lived in that and every day,” Davenport told TMJ4. “She lived to be Chyna and she was happy.”

Police identified Antonio Currin as the owner of a Chevrolet Impala seen at the scene of the crime. Currin also matched an eyewitness description of a man seen in the car. He has been charged with first-degree reckless homicide and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, though investigators have not specified a motive in the killing.

According to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), Long is at least the fourth trans woman to be killed in Milwaukee since June 2022. Some anti-trans murders go unreported or are erased by misgendering in police and media reports.

On October 13, 25-year-old gender-nonconforming entrepreneur Dominic Dupree (also known as Dominic Palace) was fatally shot multiple times while sitting in his car in Chicago, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. According to Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents, Dupree established and operated multiple businesses, including Private Protection Division LLC and Hondo IV Lawncare & Snow Removal LLC. No arrests have been made in his murder.

Last Wednesday, nearly 100 mourners gathered for a vigil in Washington, D.C. to honour 30-year-old A’nee Roberson. Police say Roberson was assaulted in the early morning hours of October 14. As she fled her attacker, she ran into the road where she was struck by a car. According to DC police, the person who was driving the vehicle remained on the scene and cooperated with police. They were not involved in the initial assault.

Police have not identified a suspect and are reportedly investigating whether Roberson’s gender identity had anything to do with the initial assault. Last week, they released surveillance video showing a person of interest in the case and are asking the public for help in identifying and locating the man shown in the footage.

On October 17, 35-year-old Lisa Love was reportedly shot and killed while walking home from a friend’s house in Chicago. Love’s cousin told local Chicago station WGN9 that a passing car made a U-turn after noticing Love.

“Approximately 30 seconds later, the car stopped and my cousin was shot,” she said. The same cousin described Love as “an all-around good person” and a “loving, caring, free-spirited person.” Family members said they believe she was targeted because she was transgender. WGN9 misgendered Love throughout its reporting on her murder.

Following Dupree’s death, Love was the second transgender or gender-nonconforming person to die by violence in Chicago last month.

Within a week of Love’s death, 26-year-old London Price was shot and killed in Miami-Dade County, Florida, on October 23. Family members told local news station NBC6 that Price was pistol-whipped in front of her grandmother at her home before being shot and killed.

Price’s aunt Nedra Allen blasted police for misgendering her niece. “She got her name change, passport, went to the court and got everything done the right way,” Allen told WPLG.

This week, it was reported that police have arrested 25-year-old Anthony Quinn Peyton II and charged him with second-degree murder in the case.

According to the HRC, Price’s tragic death marked at least the 25th violent killing of a trans or gender-nonconforming person this year. The organisation notes that it specifies “at least” because violent deaths of trans people frequently go unreported or misreported. Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents lists 35 transgender, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming people who have died by violence in the U.S. in 2023.

According to a 2021 report from the UCLA School of Law’s Williams Institute, transgender people are over four times more likely to be victims of violent crimes than cisgender men and women. Trans people of colour are particularly vulnerable. According to a 2022 HRC report, 83% of known victims of fatal violence against transgender and gender non-conforming people since 2013 were people of colour, while 63% were trans women of colour.

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