Pgh Lesbian Correspondents

The 11th trans woman to be murdered in 2019 is 32-year-old Brooklyn Lindsey of Kansas City.

Police found her body about 6:30 a.m. Tuesday at a home in the 600 block of Spruce Avenue. She had obvious signs of trauma to her face, but the cause of death had not been determined, police said.

Lindsey may have been on the steps of the house for several hours. Neighbors told police they heard an argument about 2:30 a.m. Tuesday near the residence, followed by multiple gunshots.

I noticed that the local police and media using the appropriate pronouns and names, her actual lived pronouns and name and that’s a small comfort that I hope will continue as the investigation unfolds. If you watch this video from the local FOX affiliate, you’ll see a white man who is simply listed as a community advocate say something that seems so unnecessary to articulate – that trans women deserve to be alive.

It certainly seems that a vicious minority of Americans don’t agree with that sentiment and are willing to do whatever they can to strip our trans neighbors of their rights, liberties, and their lives. I wonder why there is not more of an outcry that this year in particular Black trans woman are experiencing ALL of the reported brutality while we argue about the need for the Philadelphia pride flag (with brown and black stripes) or the impact of police participation in Pride festivals. How are we not connecting the dots amidst the lives of these 11 women?

Brooklyn was apparently beaten to death and dumped on the porch of a family member, possibly her sibling. How does that happen? Can any of us even imagine the probability of our sibling being murdered much less left to die on our front steps?

A vigil is being planned for this coming weekend by KCAVP

I have not yet learned any personal details about Brooklyn’s life, but her friends speak very lovingly of her in the embedded video. And she certainly deserved so much better. Rest in power, Brooklyn.

Anyone with information is asked to call the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477). There is a $25,000 reward for information leading to a conviction.

The Kansas City Anti-Violence Project is raising funds to support Brooklyn’s final expenses and provide support another unnamed Black trans woman who recently experienced violence in Kansas City.

My list of transgender neighbors lost during the calendar year 2019.

1. Dana Martin – Montgomery, Alabama. January 6, 2019. Age: 31.
2. Ashanti Carmon – Fairmount Heights, Maryland. March 30, 2019. Age: 27
3. Claire Legato – Cleveland. May 14, 2019. Age: 21
4. Muhlaysia Booker – Dallas. May 18, 2019. Age 23.
5. Michelle Simone Tameka Washington – Philadelphia, May 19, 2019. Age 40.
6. Paris Cameron – Detroit, May 25, 2019. Age 20.
7. Chynal Lindsey – Dallas, June 1, 2019. Age 26.
8. Chanel Scurlock – Lumberton, North Carolina, June 5, 2029. Age 23.
9. Jazzaline Ware – Memphis, Tennessee, March 2019. Age 34.  **
10. Zoe Spears – Fairmount Heights, Maryland. June 14, 2019. Age 23
11. Brooklyn Lindsey – Kansas City, June 25, 2019. Age 32

** Jazzaline Ware’s body was discovered in her apartment in Memphis, Tennessee in March. Cause of death was originally death by suicide, but according to The Advocate, authorities are now investigating her death as a homicide.