Tierramarie
Lewis, a Black transgender woman, was shot to death in Cleveland June 12,
making her at least the 33rd trans, nonbinary, or gender-nonconforming person
to die by violence in the U.S. this year.
There has been
a delay in acknowledging her death as part of the total “due to misgendering
and misnaming from local officials and a lack of media coverage,” notes a news release from the Human Rights Campaign.
Lewis was
found in a residential neighborhood of Cleveland when police responded to a
report of gunfire, The
Buckeye Flame reports. She had been shot in the chest. Officers
attempted to revive her, as they detected a faint pulse, but she died at a
hospital shortly afterward.
The Cuyahoga
County medical examiner’s office listed Lewis under her birth name, even though
her name had been legally changed, and her death was not covered by local media
outlets, according to the Flame.
A suspect has
been arrested. Duane Lunsford, 25, of Cleveland, has been charged with aggravated
murder and felonious assault, and has pleaded not guilty, the Flame reports.
Lewis had been
experiencing homelessness and had received assistance from the LGBT Community
Center of Greater Cleveland. She had moved to Cleveland last year from Columbus,
and was trying to “break away from sex work and to recover from addiction,” the
publication notes.
She had stayed
in various shelters but experienced conflicts at some and blatant transphobia
in at least one, with a security guard using the T word and
referring to her with male pronouns.
Also, “Lewis
was aware that she had maladaptive behaviors and she was working on them,”
according to the Flame. “Each time she was dismissed from a
shelter, she was resilient.”
Lewis was
remembered fondly by people connected with the Cleveland center’s Trans
Wellness program, which operates a support group and offers referrals to
resources. “I just really respected her for the fact that she walked through so
much,” Eliana Turan, director of development at the center, told the Flame. “And
she still shined such a light. She only gave kindness.”
“She commanded
attention,” recalled Tamika Jones, a member of the Trans Wellness group. “She
was tall, like me, and she was a spirited girl. … One day she would have purple
hair, one day pink hair, and always an outfit to go with those colors.”
“Another Black
transgender woman has been killed in this country. When will this violence
end?” Tori Cooper, director of community engagement for HRC’s Transgender
Justice Initiative, said in the news release. “Tierramarie should have had the
chance to live the life she wanted to live. As we continue to see so much
violence against trans and gender-nonconforming people, everyone must speak up
and take action to end the stigma and fatal violence that often targets our
community.”
A remembrance
of Lewis’s life will be held Thursday at 1 p.m. at the corner of East 79th
Street and Cedar Avenue in Cleveland.
SOURCE: ADVOCATE
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