Transgender woman murdered in Macon
A transgender woman missing for three days was found shot to death in Macon on Oct. 31. Candace Towns, 30, was last seen alive on Oct. 28 and was reported missing on Oct. 29. She becomes the 25th transgender person murdered in the U.S. this year according to the Human Rights Campaign.
The Telegraph reports that just before 4 p.m. Oct. 31, someone called 911 to report a body at the end of a driveway on Rosecrest Avenue. WMAZ says it was a public works crew that made the call. The incident is being investigated as a homicide.
Towns had a previous brush with violence in July 2009 when she was reportedly shot in the ankle a block or two from where her body was found.
Towns is the third transgender Georgia woman to be murdered this year, following the death of 17-year-old Atlanta woman Ava Le’Ray Barrin in Athens in June (another trans woman was arrested in that incident) and that of 32-year-old Tee Tee Dangerfield, who was found shot to death in College Park in July. Tyrone Anthony Kemp, 26, was arrested for Dangerfield’s murder the following month. Georgia Tech police shot and killed Pride Alliance President Scout Schultz on Sept. 16. Schultz identified as bisexual, non-binary and intersex.
Anyone with information on the shooting death of Candace Towns can call Macon Regional Crimestoppers at 1-877-68Crime.
Gay couple attacked in Athens
A gay male couple was attacked in Athens last weekend after three men followed them when the two were seen holding hands near College Avenue, reports WUGA.
Epifanio Rodriguez, spokesperson for the Athens-Clarke County Police Department, said the two gay men were called names, harassed and then attacked. Rodriguez also said it was apparent the couple were targeted for being gay.
The gay men were from Walton County and Fort Benning. The three attackers, who resided in Marietta and Fort Benning, were visiting Athens for the Georgia-South Carolina football game.
The victims were treated at the scene and did not press charges.
Deadline extended for NAESM Youth Scholars training
National AIDS Education & Services for Minorities (NAESM) announced an extend- The body of Candace Towns, 30, was found on Oct. 31 in Macon. Police are investigating it as a homicide. (Photo via Facebook) ed deadline for applicants in the third annual Build-a-Brother Youth Scholars Institute (BABI). BABI starts with a four-day peer-led training institute for young black gay and bisexual men at the National African American MSM Leadership Conference on HIV/ AIDS and other Health Disparities held Jan. 18-21, 2018, at the Renaissance Concourse Atlanta Hotel.
Selected cohorts will also attend a second round of trainings to further develop their skills and knowledge. Between both conferences, each participant will work side-byside with a mentor to design and implement a community project. On the final day of the track, Youth Scholars will present their work and ideas to their peers.
The application deadline for the third Youth Scholars cohort is Nov. 17 at 11:59 p.m. EST. Applicants must be age 18 to 29, live in the southern United States (Delaware, Maryland, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Alabama, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Mississippi, Tennessee and Washington, D.C.) and have community-service experience.
“I am excited to again provide this great opportunity. BABI will allow us to sharpen the next generation of young black gay and bisexual men,” said Darwin Thompson, executive director of NAESM, Inc. “NAESM hopes to continue this fight within the HIV epidemic by building new leaders and creating a new opportunity for work that focuses specifically on young black men who have sex with men.”
Twenty scholarships are available that will cover accommodations and transportation for both training periods. The institute aims to develop participants’ professional growth, leadership skills, grant writing, biomedical interventions (PrEP, PEP and Treatment as Prevention), social marketing, current epidemiology and personal branding. In addition to these training sessions, scholars will attend special presentations from speakers from the conference to discuss how their work relates to the lives of young black men who have sex with men.
To apply for the program, visit naesm. wufoo.com/forms/z8s5hrm120k7aa.