Photo credit: Vienna Rye @vrye
We are deeply saddened by the immeasurable loss of 3 Black transgender sisters coming to our attention over the course of this past weekend. This year, we have lost 5 invaluable voices. Through our heartbreak and fury, we honor the humanity and preciousness of Muhlaysia Booker (23), Claire Legato (21), Michelle Washington (40), Dana Martin (31), and Ashanti Carmon (27).
“This is a constant reminder that our visibility and lives are not valued. We will not continue to watch our sisters lives be taken away from us. We recognize the systemic oppression that society places on the lives of these women. We will continue to fight and will work tirelessly to remove the structural barriers that contribute to the average life expectancy of trangender women of color being 35. My heart goes out to the families and communities that knew these 3 amazing women, and I recognize the grief that they may be feeling during this time.”
~Kimberly McKenzie, Director of Outreach & Community Engagement
We will continue to support movements led by and for Black transwomen in creating spaces for healing, structures for safety, and in fighting together to build community power. We call on our allies to resource transwomen of color directly as they struggle against the injustices that directly threaten them. We are recommitting and rededicating our work to support the survival and sustainability of our communities directly impacted by transphobia, discrimination, and violence.
Join us at a solidarity rally led by NYTAG here in NYC on Friday. We’ll share details on social media as they’re announced.
[…] the beginning of 2019, there have been 11 reported murders of Black transgender women. And the average life expectancy of a transgender woman of color is […]