Martasia
Richmond and Shawmaynè Giselle Marie McClam are the latest casualties of
this epidemic of violence.
Two more
transgender Americans have died by violence, bringing the 2022 total of violent deaths among trans,
gender-nonconforming, and nonbinary people in the U.S. to 20.
Shawmaynè
Giselle Marie McClam, a Black trans woman, was shot to death at her apartment
in Gulfport, Miss., June 21, reports the Sun Herald, a local newspaper. Initial media
coverage misgendered and deadnamed her. Her sister, whose name was not
released, was shot several times but survived.
Makhari Seven
Gasaway, 20, has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder and
aggravated assault, according to TV station WLOX. He had been in a fight with McClam, which
escalated, police told the station.
McClam had
recently completed training to become a certified nursing assistant, driving to
Alabama for classes, and was scheduled to start work as a traveling CNA on June
27, an online obituary notes.
“Everything
she did was to better herself and her family,” the obit states. “She always
wanted more out of life and was determined to get it. … She loved her family,
especially her nieces and nephews, and they loved her just as much if not
more.” She was a fan of Nicki Minaj’s music and loved to dance.
“Shawmaynè was
a kind, beautiful young person who, like any person, deserved to live a full
life,” Tori Cooper, the Human Rights Campaign’s director of community
engagement for its Transgender Justice Initiative, said in a press release. “Her life was cut short by gun
violence. These tragedies happen all too often to Black and brown transgender
women in communities across the country. The violence we face is one of the
devastating results of ongoing stigma and discrimination. All of us must step
up to end that stigma. We are people. We have friends and family, passions,
hopes and dreams, just like anyone else. And we deserve to live our lives fully
without discrimination or violence.”
In Chicago,
Martasia Richmond, 30, also a Black trans woman, was stabbed to death on July
11, TransGriot reports. She was found on the porch
of a home there when police responded to a complaint of domestic battery.
Police have
arrested Daniel Burley, 31, described as Richmond’s partner, according to The Chicago Journal, which deadnamed the
victim. Burley is charged with first-degree murder but his lawyers claim he
acted in self-defense. He is being held without bail.
“It is evident
in the countless tributes from friends that Martasia Richmond was well-loved
and taken from us far too soon,” Cooper said in a separate news release. “At 30 years old, she should have
decades ahead of her to spend with those she loved. Her death was not only
unjust but part of an alarming trend of anti-transgender violence in Chicago
and in this country at large. More must be done to protect Black transgender
women and the entire transgender and gender-nonconforming community.”
In 2021, the
violent deaths of 57 trans, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming Americans were
reported, most of them Black and Latinx trans women. That number was the
highest since activists and media have been keeping track. The number in any
given year is undoubtedly higher, given misgendering and deadnaming by police
and media.
SOURCE: ADVOCATE
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