Bee Love Slater was found burned beyond recognition in an abandoned car this week in Florida. According to the Human Rights Campaign, she is the 18th transgender person to be murdered in 2019.
Of the 18 transgender people murdered in 2019 so far, 17 of them were black women.
Jordan Cofer, the only exception, was a victim of the mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio on Aug. 4.
The HRC reported at least 26 transgender individuals were murdered in 2018, and a disproportionate amount of these people were black, trans women as well. These murders are attributed to anti-transgender bias as well as the women being pushed into unemployment, homelessness, or sex work due to their gender identity, which ultimately put them at risk for violence.
There is a very clear targeted group in this country, and yet it seems no one is talking about this chaos. The American Medical Association called violence against transgender people an “epidemic”.
The U.S. is considered to be relatively progressive on rights for the LGBTQ community, having completely legalized gay marriage. Considering there are many countries where being gay is illegal to the point that it constitutes execution, it does seem like a very equality driven country.
Unfortunately, this country is still a very dangerous place to be for some in the LGBTQ community. When you take into account the misogyny, racism and transphobia that have run rampant in this country in recent years, the atmosphere creates a very dangerous situation for black trans women.
President Donald Trump’s administration has done more to hurt this than to help. They have banned transgender people from joining the military, required that prisoners are housed in facilities based on their sex assigned at birth and new rules created for the Department of Health and Human Services allow hospitals and insurance companies to deny patients care based on religious or moral beliefs.
Additionally, there has been the repeated issue of schools and public facilities barring transgender individuals from the bathrooms they feel most comfortable using based on their gender identification. This type of public exclusion is alienating and normalizes the targeting of transgender people to the point that it incites violence against them.
The Trump administration has sent a message through their anti-trans laws and their silence on these murders: transgender people do not matter them.
This sentiment has emboldened people to act on their prejudice and create a life-threatening situation for those who wish to present as the gender they wish. These violent acts are not by accident; we are facing a public crisis based on hate and ignorance.
Beverly Tillery is executive director of the NYC Anti-Violence Project, a nonprofit which combats violence against the LGBTQ and HIV-positive communities.
Tillery said that providing resources such as housing, healthcare and employment without discrimination will help them end up in safer situations where the threat of violence against them is lower. These aspects may also prove that trans women of color are valuable members of our society.
“Sending that message is equally important because we’re also waging a war, a culture war, here,” Tillery told TIME. “What people are hearing from society, particularly the federal government, is we don’t value this community and these individuals.”
Immediate action must be taken to help the transgender community in every way possible. This is a crisis that should be a priority for everyone who values basic human rights.
Equality was not reached by legalizing gay marriage and it will never be unless people of every gender identity and race can live in America without fearing for their lives.
