This #pride , we must remember the Black LGBTQ and gender-nonconforming people who are killed by people. The overlap of sexism, racism, homophobia, and transphobia fuels police violence against them, and the mainstream media all too often reacts to their deaths with indifference.
Just this week Tallahassee police shot and killed #TonyMcDade and then misgendered him. McDade, a Black trans man was also misgendered by local media that reported on his death.
A memorial fund to support his family has been set up: gofundme.com/f/in-memory-of…
Other Black LGBTQ victims of police violence include #KaylaMoore, a Black transgender woman who was murdered by Berkeley police officers who were called to help her during a mental health crisis. The officers who suffocated and killed Moore used transgender slurs to refer to her.
#MichelleCusseaux, a queer Black woman who lived in Phoenix, was killed by police who broke down her door and saw her holding a hammer that she had been using to fix a lock. The officer who killed her was not prosecuted even though his actions "fell outside of department policy."
#MyaHall was a Black transgender woman who was shot and killed by NSA police when she made a wrong turn and crashed into a guard post on NSA property. #IndiaBeaty, a queer Black woman, was kill by police who shot her five times when she she was holding a toy gun.
As pride begins, we must challenge mainstream narratives of police violence that reinforce systems of gendered erasure by failing to include the names and stories of Black LGBTQ and gender-nonconforming people who are also targets of police violence and brutality.
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