Reeling from killings, trans community calls for understanding

[Xenguy]

Reeling from killings, trans community calls for understanding
Trans women's issues are getting more attention, but activists say that recent deaths show it's not enough
Kevin Tsukii- July 3, 2014

"NEW YORK CITY – On the eve of one the nation's largest gay pride parades, a rainbow of colors illuminated the Empire State Building like a guiding light for hundreds of thousands of people flowing into the city for Sunday's festivities.

But just a couple of avenues east in New York's Chelsea neighborhood, transgender rights activists crowded into a dim room, reading speeches and poems about why they were skipping this year's Pride festivities.

"While you're off celebrating Pride, our community is dealing with the brutal deaths of Zoraida Reyes, Tiff Edwards, Yaz'min Shancez," said Lourdes Ashley Hunter, speaking at an anti-Pride event organized by poet activists DarkMatter. Hunter is a member of the Audre Lorde Project's TransJustice program, a New York-based organization for trans and gender non-conforming people of color."

More: http://america.aljazeera.com/watch/shows/america-tonight/articles/2014/7/3/trans-color-deathslgbt.html

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[Ms Grace]

Is this issue endemic in the USA at the moment, or has it always been this way and just getting more attention now? I'm not across the full spectrum of news in Australia but I have to say I'm not aware of that level of violence against trans people here...??

[Hikari]

I don't see how boycotting pride brings anyone back from the dead nor increases the visibility of the violence against transpeople. The average person, isn't going to notice, much less care if trans people aren't in the pride event. This is the equivalent of the Communist Party refusing to go to the polls to vote, who is going to know outside of party members, ultra politicos, or friends/family? It seems to me counter-productive and anti solidarity to boycott pride. No reason you couldn't have a Trans Day of Action march and the pride march.

I say kudos to those who attend both, especially seeing as plenty of cisgender allies were there for the trans day of action march, no reason to get all sectarian.

[Xenguy]

I don't see how boycotting pride brings anyone back from the dead nor increases the visibility of the violence against transpeople. The average person, isn't going to notice, much less care if trans people aren't in the pride event. This is the equivalent of the Communist Party refusing to go to the polls to vote, who is going to know outside of party members, ultra politicos, or friends/family? It seems to me counter-productive and anti solidarity to boycott pride. No reason you couldn't have a Trans Day of Action march and the pride march.

I say kudos to those who attend both, especially seeing as plenty of cisgender allies were there for the trans day of action march, no reason to get all sectarian.

Their course of action confused me a bit too, but it's possibly to bring more attention onto these recent killings, and that we shouldn't just brush them off? I don't know. But I think people will notice if they bring some light onto the subject.

[Hikari]

I don't get their actions.....Related there is this: http://mpdc.dc.gov/node/843732

I am not sure if I should be happy the MPD decided to put a special section for unsolved murders of transpeople, because it might solve one, or to be sad that they had to. Worse thing is, all of those cases are years old which means they are unlikely to ever get solved.

BTW: Worth noting, they are all women of color on that list too.