Pgh Lesbian Correspondents

TransGriot broke the news that another Black trans woman was murdered in Chicago this week. Her name was Martasia Richmond. She died from multiple stab wounds in the West Englewood neighborhood.

From the Windy City Times

An individual was found with multiple stabbed wounds after Chicago Police Department (CPD) answered a call of domestic battery at the 5700 block of South Damien at 11:46 p.m. on July 11, according to CPD. That individual was taken to University of Chicago Hospital where they were pronounced dead at approximately 12:14 a.m. on July 12.

Social media accounts indicate that a suspect has been arrested, but this has not yet been confirmed by authorities.

Martasia Richmond was 30 years old, born and raised in Chicago. Her social media postings suggest she was bold, determined, and defiant. Her friends describe her as loyal and generous. Her death has devastated a lot of people who are pouring out remembrances and tributes on social media.

Her death has been identified as a domestic dispute, something she shares with several of the more recent victims. Domestic violence or interpersonal violence is a dangerous threat to all women. Check with the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs for more information. Anti-trans and transphobic rhetoric in our national discourse puts our trans women and nonbinary neighbors at even greater risk than they already are. That doesn’t seem to resonate with everyone, but it is a reality. Our failures to acknowledge and amplify the realities of gender identity within the context of violence, whether at the hands of our lovers or state sponsored control of our bodies, makes everything worse.

Martasia is the 20th transgender person reported as a victim of fatal violence in 2022. She is the thirteenth Black trans woman and the sixteenth woman of color from these neighbors. Her death means a trans neighbor has been murdered every 9.6 days in 2022 in the United States. To date the victims include 13 Black trans women, 3 Latinx trans women, 1 AAIPI trans woman, 1 white trans woman and 2 white trans men. The youngest was 17, the oldest was 50. Ten were 25 or younger. Their deaths come on the heels of 2021, the most violent year in recorded history with the deaths of 57 trans, non-binary, and gender nonconforming people in the United States alone. Note that the tabulation includes a significant number of reports of folx murdered in 2021. This might be confusing. Of course it is confusing. I tried to sort it out below.

Rest in power, Martasia. 30 years is too few and I’m sorry we haven’t done a better job creating a safe and respectful world for you. You deserved so much more. And you clearly had an impact on your friends and community. Thank you for all that you brought to this world.

May your memory be a revoluation

This is our list of transgender, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming neighbors who have been victims of the campaign of terror in 2022. Please do not copy or share this list without attribution.  

As six additions to our 2021 list have been revealed in 2022, I am adding them in a separate list below to try and make any sense of this increasing horror. These folks deserve their lives and deaths to be honored and remembered. The complexity only underscores their realities.

1. Amäriey Lèį (Myara) – Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania. January 1, 2022. Age 20. 
2. Duval Princess – Jacksonville, Florida. January 2, 2022. Age 24.
3. Naomie Skinner – Detroit, Michigan, February 12, 2022. Age 25.
4. Cypress Ramos – Lubbock, Texas, February 13, 2022. Age 21.
5. Paloma Velasquez – Houston, Texas, February 26, 2022. Age 29.
6. Matthew Spampinato – New Castle, Delaware, February 9, 2022. Age 21.
7. Tatiana LaBelle – Chicago, Illinois, March 18, 2022. Age 33.
8. Kathryn Newhouse – Canton, Georgia, March 19, 2022. Age 19.
9. Kesha Webster – Jackson, Mississippi, March 26, 2022. Age 24.
10. Miia Love Parker – Chester, Pennsylvania, April 1, 2022. Age 25.
11. Ariyanna Mitchell – Hampton, Virginia, April 2, 2022. Age 17.
12. Fern Feather – Morristown, Vermont, April 12, 2022. Age 29.
13. Ray Muscat – Clarkston, Michigan, May 8, 2022. Age 24.
14. Nedra Sequence Moss – Opa-locka, Florida, May 14, 2022. Age 50.
15. Chanelika Y’Ella Dior Hemingway aka “Sid” – Albany, New York, May 31, 2022. Age 30.
16. Sasha Mason – Zebulon, North Carolina, May 13, 2022. Age 45.
17. Brazil Johnson – Milwaukee, Wisconsin, June 15, 2022. Age 28.
18. Shawmayné Marie McClam – Gulfport, Mississippi, June 21, 2022. Age 27.
19. Kitty Monroe – Memphis, Tennessee, June 29, 2022. Age unknown.
20. Martasia Richmond – Chicago, Illinois, July 12, 2022, Age 30.

These are deaths reported in 2022 and beyond.

• 52 Za’Niyah Williams – Houston, Texas. December 20, 2021, reported on Jan 5, 2022. Age 21.
• 53 Nikki Turrietta – Albuquerque, New Mexico, December 31, 2021, reported on January 27, 2022. Age 31.
• 54 Keeva Scatter – Baton Rouge, Louisiana, October 15, 2021, confirmed on February 13, 2022. Age 34.
• 55 Rubi Dominguez – Brownsville, Texas, July 15, 2021, confirmed on February 13, 2022. Age 29.
• 56 Martina Caldera – Houston, Texas, December 6, 2021. Age 38.
• 57 Geri Judd – Bossier, Louisiana, September 28, 2021, confirmed March 1, 2022. Age 60