Black
transgender woman Chanelika Y’Ella Dior Hemingway, a recent graduate of the
University of Albany in New York, was found dead in her Albany apartment May
31, and police have ruled her death a homicide.
The police
have not disclosed how she was killed and have released few details overall.
She was found because her mother had not heard from her and asked authorities
to check on her, Spectrum Local News reports.
“I wake up
every morning crying, like, ‘Who took my baby away from me? Why would you do
that? Oh, God, why?’” Hemingway’s mother, Jackie Powell, told the outlet this
week.
Hemingway had
just turned 30. She had studied at Hudson Valley Community College and then
earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Albany, where she had
received an award for her academic achievement and community activities. “She
was always proud of who she was and so was I,” Powell told Spectrum.
“Hemingway was
a light in every room she entered,” notes a Human Rights Campaign press release. She “should still be alive today to
share her beautiful smile” and pursue her “bright future,” Tori Cooper,
director of community engagement for HRC’s Transgender Justice Initiative, said
in the release. Cooper added, “Tragically, Black transgender women are
disproportionally victims of fatal violence and more must be done to protect us
and end this epidemic of violence.”
Hemingway is
at least the 15th trans, nonbinary, or gender-nonconforming person to die by violence in the U.S. this year. There are
likely many more victims whose deaths go unreported due to deadnaming or
misgendering. A record 57 violent deaths were reported among this
population last year.
In Our Own
Voices, an Albany-area LGBTQ+ group, is offering a reward for information
leading to an arrest in Hemingway’s case. The Albany police ask that anyone
with helpful info call detectives at (518) 462-8039 or submit an anonymous tip
through Capital Region Crime Stoppers.
SOURCE: ADVOCATE
No comments:
Post a Comment