Not just a name on a list

[Shana A]

Not just a name on a list
Filed by: Waymon Hudson
November 20, 2008 1:30 PM

http://www.bilerico.com/2008/11/not_just_a_name_on_a_list.php

Today is the Transgender Day of Remembrance. It is a solemn day where our community comes together to remember and honor those lost to anti-transgender hate and violence. The list is horrifically long this year, with 16 new names added to the list.

Simmie Williams.pngOne of those names, however, hits me especially hard- Simmie Williams Jr. Simmie was a 17 year-old kid who was shot and killed in Fort Lauderdale. The murderers have still not been caught.

Our community in South Florida has done its best to rally around Simmie's family- holding vigils, raising money, and keeping pressure on the police to find the killers. Through this process, my husband and I have gotten to know Simmie's mother- a woman who has turned unspeakable tragedy into a call to action.

She is my hero.

[NicholeW.]

Waymon wrote a really, really good piece. And he's right, for a lot of those names there are huge numbers of others who were more than just affected by the deaths. Rocks dropped into water eventually make waves all the way across a pool. *sigh*

Nichole