Pgh Lesbian Correspondents

24-year-old Black trans woman Tiara Banks is the most recent victim of fatal violence in the transgender community. Tiara was shot to death on April 21 in Chicago.

 [At 10:30 PM] the 12000 block of South Indiana Avenue. Police said a woman was sitting alone in a Ford Fusion when someone came up and shot her multiple times. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Sources close to the investigation said the woman identified as transgender, but her name has not been released at this time.

30 minutes earlier in the evening the same suspect allegedly killed a 20-year-old Black cisgender man.

Police are considering her gender identity as a motive and acknowledge that Chicago has lost three Black trans women to homicide this year.

Tiara is the nineteenth trans, nonbinary or gender nonconforming person reported killed in 2021. Eighteen of these neighbors have been BIPOC. She is the fifteenth victim who identified as Black.  In total, there have been SEVENTEEN murders or suspicious deaths in the first 110 days of 2021, an average of one death every 6.4 days. 14 of these victims were under the age of 30. So far. That we know of as many deaths go unreported or unacknowledged.  Note – in this summary, I include suspicious deaths that as you can read below are often later confirmed homicides.

Little is known about Tiara. A Facebook post from Howard Brown Health, a community-based LGBTQ health organization based in Chicago, announced Tiara’s death. Reportedly, final arrangements are being handled by Higgins Funeral Home, but no obituary or details have been made public. 

Rest in power, Tiara. You deserved a life full of memories, joy, and love. 

This is our list of transgender, gender-nonconforming, and non-binary neighbors lost to violence in 2021. Please do not copy or share this list without attribution.

1. Tyianna Davarea Alexandra – Chicago, Illinois. January 6, 2021. Age 28.
2. Samuel Edmund Damián Valentín – Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico. January 9, 2021. Age 21.
3. Dominique Jackson – Jackson, Mississippi. January 25, 2021. Age 30.
4. Bianca ‘Muffin’ Bankz – Atlanta, Georgia. January 21, 2021. Age 31.
5. Fifty Bandzzz – Baton Rouge, Louisiana. January 28, 2021. Age 21.
6. Alexus “Kimmy” Braxton – Miami, Florida. February 4, 2021. Age 45.
7. Chynaa Carrillo – New Wilmington, Pennsylvania. February 18, 2021. Age 24.
8. Jeffrey ‘JJ’ Bright – Ambridge, Pennsylvania. February 22, 2021. Age 16.
9. Jasmine Cannady – Ambridge, Pennsylvania. February 22, 2021. Age 22.
10. Jenna Franks – Jacksonville, North Carolina, February 24, 2021. Age 34. **
11. Diamond Nicole ‘Kyree’ Sanders – Cincinnati, Ohio. March 3, 2021. Age 23.
12. Rayanna Pardo – Los Angeles, California, March 17, 2021. Age 26. ***
13. Aidelen Evans – Port Arthur, Texas, March 2021. Age 24 ****
14. Dominique Lucious – Springfield, Missouri, April 8, 2021. Age 26.
15. Jaida Peterson – Charlotte, North Carolina, April 4, 2021. Age 29.
16. Remy Fennell – Charlotte, North Carolina, April 15, 2021. Age 28.
17. Tiara Banks – Chicago, Illinois, April 21, 2021. Age 26.

** Jenna’s death was originally reported as suspicious, but has since been reported as a homicide. *** Rayanna’s cause of death was originally undetermined, but has since been reported as a homicide. **** Aidelen’s cause of death was unspecified, but has since been reported as a homicide

We are also still monitoring these suspicious deaths from 20/21 (in addition to the 44 documented killings.)

• Fendi Mon’ezah Armstrong – Lithonia, Georgia, November 11, 2020. Age 39
• Kimberely Patricia Cope – Athens, Georgia, December 27, 2020. Age 40.
• Natasha Keianna – Detroit, Michigan, January 12, 2021. Age 37.
• Bonaire ‘Bonnie’ Black – Atlanta, Georgia, December 31, 2020. Age 19.
• Koko Nia Labeija – Chicago, Illinois, Found June 2020, Identified April 2021, Age 19.