Trans People Say: End Economic Inequality, Solidarity with the 99%!

The DC Trans Coalition has decided to formally endorse and offer our support to the OccupyDC movement. We also encourage all of our members to attend today’s protest gathering at 4pm at Freedom Plaza and marching to the International Monetary Fund.

The Occupy Together movement started in New York City as Occupy Wall Street, which began on September 17th. The protests have grown progressively larger as increasing numbers take to the streets in nonviolent opposition to a society in which 1% of the population controls a quarter of all income. Inspired by this model, similar occupations are occurring in dozens of cities across the country, some being attended by tens of thousands. The demonstrators have highlighted that the current economic crisis is caused by corporate greed, and demand jobs and resources for oppressed people. In DC, Occupy K Street protestors have been in McPherson Square for several weeks.

As a whole, socially-marginalized communities (such as low-income trans people and trans people of color) suffer the most directly from poverty and are the most likely to be impacted by inequalities that arise from economic injustice. The DC Trans Coalition’s major priorities — as decided upon by our grassroots base through community forums and consultations — are creating inclusive, accessible jobs and services for all marginalized people in the District. We thus stand in solidarity with the grassroots Occupy Together movements.

Additionally, we especially encourage everyone who is able to attend the march that will take place today shortly after 4:00pm, leaving from Freedom Plaza, through McPherson Square, and ending at the International Monetary Fund. Today’s march was started by a group of women, queer people, and people of color in order to highlight the connection between multiple forms of oppression, both at home and globally. For this reason, DCTC especially wishes to express our full support for this action. It is critical that we recognize the links between our oppression and the oppression of others, and that we all work together to end inequality.

See you in the streets! For more information on OccupyDC and today’s march, see below.

On-going Updates On Recent Violence, Including More Attacks

• Violence against trans women in D.C. is continuing to gain widespread media attention. For example, NPR currently has a national story featuring interviews with DCTC members and allies: Violent Attacks on Transgender People Raise Alarm. It’s unfortunately worth mentioning that there have been even more violent incidents targeting trans women that are not recorded in this article.
• We were recently notified by MPD that a trans woman was stabbed in the abdomen on Sept. 26th by two male suspects. The suspects also verbally assaulted the survivor and her friends with homophobic/transphobic language before the attack. The incident occurred on the 700 block of North Capitol Street. Thankfully, the victim’s injuries were non-life threatening and responding police officers were able to arrest both suspects. They are being charged with Assault with a Deadly Weapon – Bias Related.
• Today, Darryl Willard Jr., who shot a trans woman in the neck on Sept. 12 on Savannah Street SE, accepted the plea bargain to one count of Aggravated Assault While Armed, which carries a 5 year mandatory minimum and a maximum of 30 or 40 years. It is not being prosecuted as a hate crime. Willard was previously charged with Assault With Intent to Kill While Armed. A sentencing hearing was set for December 6, 2011 at 9:30AM.  DCTC will have an opportunity to submit a Community Impact Statement. In the meantime, we continue to ensure that the survivor’s identity is respected by the court.
• Last Sunday, about 200 showed up at Dupont Circle for a vigil commemorating Gigi Gopalan, who was murdered in Columbia Heights on Sept. 10th.

Several Anti-Violence Events THIS WEEK

Friends of Gigi Gopalan, who was killed two weeks ago, are holding a candlelight vigil this evening (Sunday) from 7-10pm. People will be gathering at Dupont Circle at 7, and will then be walking to 11th & Fairmont NW, where Gigi was found. Please spread the word, and come out and show your support. Details are available on facebook here. [Note: Gigi is still being referred to as Gaurav Gopalan in most accounts. However, in a letter written to friends shortly before her death, Gigi clearly articulated that she was trans and intended to begin transition. Therefore, we have updated this to reflect her chosen identity.]

This week

Monday, September 28
Mandy Van Deven, coauthor of “Hey, Shorty!: A Guide to Combating Sexual Harassment and Violence in Schools and on the Streets,” will facilitate a discussion about the community organizing work led by teen women of color at Girls for Gender Equity to end gender-based violence in public space. The conversation will use the book as a jumping off point to speak about street harassment, sexual harassment in schools, and strategies to increase the safety of girls, women, and LGBTQ folks. This event will also feature street harassment expert Holly Kearl, members of the DC Trans Coalition, SMYAL, Holla Back DC, and HIPS. 6:30pm at Busboys and Poets on 14th and V Sts NW.

Tuesday, September 27

Come to our Needs Assessment meeting at 7:30pm! This week is super-important, as we’ll be discussing the draft survey for the next phase of our research. We’ll also be skyping in with some of our awesome research helpers from the Williams Institute in LA. Call us at 202.681.3282 or email us for location details.

Wednesday, September 28

The Mayor’s Office of GLBT Affairs is hosting a Public Safety Open House with members of the Metropolitan Police Department and Fire & Emergency Medical Services at 6:30pm in the community room at the Reeves Center, 14th & U Streets NW. Make your voice heard!

Thursday, September 29

We’ll be participating in a discussion on recent hate violence in DC following the 8pm performance of STOP KISS, a play by Diana Son, produced by No Rules Theatre Company at the H Street Playhouse (1365 H Street NE). More on the play can be found from Metro Weekly here, and you can purchase tickets online here. Use code LGBTQ10 to get $10 off.

Looking ahead

Be sure to come to our October meetings, October 4 and 18. Also, stay tuned for details about an upcoming town hall meeting, a DC Council hearing on hate crimes, a trans day of action, and the annual trans day of remembrance.

Finally, Some Good News: Trans Employment Program Success! (Plus More Updates)

After a brutal summer, we are excited to share some positive results from our collective struggle to improve the lives of trans folks in the District. After talks between trans advocates and D.C. Mayor Gray, 21 trans individuals are participating in Project Empowerment’s pilot program to combat transphobic discrimination. NPR has an in-depth look.

DCTC is doing all we can to support the participants and make it a success. We are very excited to be part of this ground-breaking effort to address unemployment in our communities, and we hope the District will continue to fund similar potentially life-saving resources.

In response to the recent string of violence, we’ve received an unprecedented amount of letters of support in the past few weeks. We are looking forward to a busy fall, so if you’re thinking about getting involved now is a great time! We are gearing up for our next semi-annual Community Forum, tentatively scheduled for October 23rd. Here is a bit more news from our active campaigns…

Needs Assessment

• We just passed a major hurdle toward receiving funding so that we can begin Phase Two. Our Needs Assessment Working Group is in the process of designing the paper survey that will soon be distributed. If you’d like to help out, they meet on the second and third Tuesdays of the month. Click here to learn more.
• In case you missed it, be sure to check out the critically important results from our community roundtable discussions at the Phase One Summary Report.

Jails

• DCTC members recently attended the first ever meeting of the D.C. Department of Corrections Transgender Advisory Council, a new body meant to increase transparency and community oversight into how the DOC is handling trans inmates. We will have more updates shortly!
• A Corrections officer is currently being investigated for issuing death threats against two trans women. We are following this case closely.

Responding to Violence and Hate Crimes

• DCTC is continuing to work with community members in response to the many recent instances of violence involving trans women and/or motivated by transphobia. Click here,  here and here to see media interviews with DCTC members.
• Adding to our fears that the string of murders was motivated by bias, the makeshift memorial to Lashai Mcclean that was left at the site she was murdered (and near where two other trans women were shot weeks later) has been burned.
• The death of Gaurav Gopalan was recently ruled a homicide.
• An arrest was made in the shooting of a trans woman in Southeast.
• We are working with our allies at Transgender Health Empowerment and elsewhere to organize this year’s Trans Day of Remembrance and other events around November 20th. If you’d like to help, watch for an announcement about the next TDOR Planning Meeting.

Police

• Members of DCTC have recently attended early meetings with other community organizations who are working to create a new coalition called TLGB Police Watch.
• We maintain regular communication with the Metropolitan Police Department to express our concern about transphobia in MPD. We want to make sure that officers are being properly trained, and we want MPD to take the recent crimes against trans people seriously.
• We are preparing to conduct another round of training for the Gay & Lesbian Liaison Unit.
• We continue to monitor the legal case against Officer Furr, who recently shot at a group of trans people and their friends while off-duty.

Update on This Week’s Violence

As is now well known, our communities suffered more violence over the weekend. Most recently, we were alerted by the Metropolitan Police Department at about 3:15am Monday morning of a trans woman who was non-fatally shot on the 2300 block of Savannah Street SE and had been transported to a local hospital. The victim had met up with her assailant, whom she had known previously, and they got into an argument in his truck, at which point he fired a shot at her, which grazed her neck. The victim was able to walk into 7th District police headquarters to seek assistance. Yesterday, MPD arrested the assailant, Darryl Willard, and he was charged with Assault with Intent to Kill While Armed. We will keep you posted as this case moves through the courts.

 

Flowers left on 11th Street NW where Saturday's victim was found.

Earlier in the weekend, at around 6:10am Saturday morning, we were informed by MPD that a body had been discovered at 11th & Fairmont Streets NW in Columbia Heights. According to MPD, the deceased person was believed to be a Latina trans woman. DCTC members arrived at the crime scene within an hour, and received an update from MPD’s Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit. Throughout Saturday morning and again later that evening, several Latina trans community members made phone calls and went door to door in Columbia Heights checking on friends and acquaintances and trying to track down anyone who could not be reached. Around 9:00am on Sunday, DCTC member Ruby Corado was presented with a photo of the deceased by MPD homicide detectives, but was unable to make an identification. The case is being investigated as a suspicious death, and the DC medical examiner has been unable to determine a cause of death.

 

On Monday afternoon, MPD Assistant Chief Peter Newsham held a press conference focused on these two cases, and released a photo of Saturday’s victim taken by the medical examiner. Throughout the press conference, Newsham persistently referred to the deceased as “he” and “a possible transgender male” and used phrases like “he was wearing make-up” and “feminine clothing.” While it is likely impossible for anyone to ever know the victim’s true gender identity, it is important to note that DC’s Human Rights Act, which is supported by MPD’s general order on handling trans people (general order 501.02), also mandates respect for a person’s gender expression. Given the many unknowns surrounding the victim’s death and identity, Newsham — like all officers — should have chosen gender neutral pronouns and should understand the difference between a trans man and a trans woman. We believe that Newsham’s reckless language represents a violation of MPD’s General Order 501.02 and its mandate to be respectful of gender identity and expression, and we will be raising that with both MPD and the Mayor’s office.

 

Within a day after the autopsy photo’s release, a member of DC’s South Asian LGBT community came forward and identified the victim, who is of Nepalese descent. As noted above, MPD’s initial belief was that the person was possibly Latino, which on Monday was expanded to also include possibly of Middle Eastern descent. This raises obvious questions about assigning a racial identity based solely on appearance. Further, the improperly assigned race in this case almost certainly contributed to the four-day delay in identifying the victim, and definitely caused intense fear within the Latina trans community. We understand that members of KhushDC have expressed that they will be planning a remembrance for the victim, we will keep you posted on details as they become available.

 

We also want to acknowledge statements made to the media by DC Mayor Vince Gray and DC Council Chairman Kwame Brown expressing their concern over the extreme violence our communities have faced this year. We look forward to working with them to take concrete action to prevent such violence inthe future.

 

As always, if you have been a victim of violence, or if you know someone who has, you can reach out to us at 202.681.3282 or email dctc@dctranscoalition.org. You can also reach out to Transgender Health Empowerment at 202.636.1646 or HIPS via their 24-hour hotline at 1.800.676.HIPS. If you need police assistance, dial 911 or call the Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit at 202.506.0714.