South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
‘Deadliest year on record’ for violence against trans people
Trans woman remembered at South Florida LGBTQ+ community virtual memorial
The South Florida LGBTQ+ gathered Friday during Transgender Day of Remembrance, the way they do every year on Nov. 20. But this year, the memorial was noticeably different, and not just because it was held virtually.
It was the deadliest year on record for violence against transgender people since advocates started tracking these crimes in 2013. At least 37 trans and non-binary people died in 2020 because of genderbased violence, according to the Human Rights Campaign. Most of them were Black trans women.
And this year, South Florida LGBTQ+ people remembered one of their own. Bree “Nuk” Black, a Black trans woman, was shot to death in the middle of a street crowded with people celebrating the Fourth of July holiday in Pompano Beach. And despite dozens of witnesses, no one has been arrested in the more than four months since she was murdered.
“This started way back in 1999 for me, when my very close friend was murdered
right in front of me,” said Tatiana Williams, executive director of TransInclusive Group, who led the virtual memorial for the group Friday. “Twenty years later, and we have the deadliest year on record. That’s a lot to think about for me. Especially as someone that has experience with domestic violence ... I could have easily been another statistic.
Williams and six of her fellow transgender panelists discussed the issues they said contribute to violence against trans people, including discrimination that perpetuates housing insecurity and lack of access to public resources and accommodations such as education or equal job opportunities, which routinely necessitates survival sex work, Williams said.
Sometimes, it’s as simple as not being able to update their ID to match their actual gender, said Mai Duckstein, who uses they/ them pronouns. They’re the executive director of Dungeons and Drag, a nonprofit shelter that provides safe and sober space to those who need it.
Black’s murder didn’t have anything to do with survival sex work, Williams said. Based on her conversations with people in the streets where Black was murdered, Williams believes Black was targeted by a person Black had interacted with in the neighborhood earlier that day.
The problem is that no one will come forward with information to give to the police, Williams said.
“Broward Sheriff ’s Office has worked diligently and have tried to do all they can,” Williams said. “If they don’t have any leads, anyone coming forward, their hands are tied. It’s almost like the cases go cold because there’s no leads.”
The issue stems from a deep distrust of police that’s built into the fabric of communities across Pompano Beach, Black communities, people of color, trans gender communities, and any other community members who feel as though police don’t mean them any good, Williams said.
Sometimes that distrust comes from police agencies that have historically misgendered and misnamed trans victims. When Black was murdered, Broward Sheriff ’s Office originally released Black’s birth name or “legal” name. Using a transgender person’s nonpreferred name is negatively referred to by advocates as “deadnaming.”
In 2018 in Orlando, thought of by some LGTBQ+ advocates as a safe haven for LGBTQ+ people, police misgendered and released the wrong name for a trans woman who was murdered.
And others are simply afraid they’ll be targeted next if they give police any information, Williams said.
“There’s a lot of structural barriers that prevent folks from even wanting to say anything,” she said. “I get it, but we have to start somewhere. Nothing happens overnight, especially as it relates to change.”
Nik Harris, an LGBTQ+ advocate in South Florida, also worked with Broward Sheriff ’s Office on Black’s case. She said that they acknowledged they’re “not a perfect organization,” but they were interested in doing the work to keep more trans people from getting murdered.
Harris also said she spoke with Black’s family after she was murdered, and they were hurting and grieving for their loved one the same way any family would.
“Bree was loved beyond measure,” Harris said. “I heard from a family who talked about laughter and love and said that’s what Bree brought to their lives. And they talked about how Bree was really invested in the little ones in the family.”
Black’s case is still under investigation. The Broward Sheriff ’s Office declined to comment for this story.
Two transgender people were murdered in Miami this year, according to the Human Rights Campaign. And one of the more publicized trans deaths in Florida this year was Tony McDade, a Black trans man who was shot and killed by police in Tallahassee.
The panelists acknowledged that the solutions to these issues must start with law enforcement, within the community, and with local government. And they said they felt hopeful that the federal government once again appears headed toward restoring protections for trans people.
A few of the panelists said they felt energized by President-elect Joe Biden’s language around Transgender Day of Remembrance. The president- elect tweeted about the 37 transgender and gender-nonconforming people who were killed this year, saying he would “recommit to the work that remains to end this epidemic of violence.”
“It was refreshing when I saw the tweet that came from President-elect Joe Biden,” Williams said. “To know that we have someone that’s totally the opposite of what we’ve had, what ’s been going on now with our current president wanting to roll back protections for trans people. It was refreshing to see a president who acknowledges who we are and respects our gender identity.”