Pgh Lesbian Correspondents

The Crime

Redd, also known as Barbie, was a 25 year old Black trans woman living in Chicago when she was killed by gun violence.

Police found a 25-year-old [wo]man with a gunshot wound to the back in the 4600 block of West Monroe Street around 1:36 a.m. [on Sunday, September 8, 2024] according to Fox32

Redd was declared dead at the scene. Another person was also critically injured.

According to The Advocate, Redd reportedly suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the back and legs, and police reported finding 15 shell casings at the scene

Then, police said the victims were shot by an unidentified male who fled the scene on foot.

A friend of Redd’s, Michelle Lee, told the outlet the pair gathered with other friends on a street corner on Sunday morning when a man they did not recognize walked past their group to talk with a girl in another group nearby. He then left the area, but Lee said the man returned about 30 minutes later with a gun and opened fire.

She said everyone ran after the first shot and that the man continued to shoot as they fled the scene. When they returned, they found Redd lying motionless on the sidewalk.

Honoring Redd

According to her social media profiles, Redd was born in Columbia, South Carolina. She recently lived in Chicago. She enjoyed doing her hair and nails. Overall, her profiles describe a bold, vivacious personality.

Redd was a fan of Nicki Minaj. She also liked the Gay City News. Redd’s feeds are filled with her insistence on being respected and acknowledged. Friends reiterated that to media.

No word yet on final arrangements.

Context

That we know of, Redd is the 32nd trans person whose death has been reported in 2024. Reported means the death may have been earlier or that we do not have all of the details. You may notice in my list later in this post that I try to make some distinctions. As of this post, I have now identified 27 individuals who were killed this year and 32 total individuals whose deaths became known to us this year.

I know this is confusing. Death cannot be neatly contained in data and reporting, but it is essential that we try to describe this epidemic of violence with every possible tool.

She is the 23rd trans woman, the 12th Black trans woman, and the 18th trans woman of color on our list. In total 23 out of the 27 individuals were BIPOC. As of this post, a trans person’s violent murder has been reported in the US every 7.8 days this year.

Redd’s death was heinous. No one deserves to be literally slaughtered. And as we usually expect from Chicago mainstream media, early reporting misgendered Redd. So her loved ones, reeling from a horrific loss, had to push back and demand accurate reporting. I fear we are losing hard-fought ground with the media.

Since 2020, we have memorialized 13 trans individuals whose lives were lost in Illinois: 2023 – Unique Banks (21) Dominic Palace Dupree (25) Lisa Love (35) Lovely Page (54) 2022: Martasia Richmond (32) Tatiana LaBelle (33) 2021: Tyianna Davarea Alexandra (28) Tiara Banks (26) Disaya Monaee Smith (32) Brianna Ulmer Hamilton (25) Ke’Yahonna Stone (32) 2020: Eshay Key (25)

Also in 2024, we documented the as-of-yet undetermined death of an 80 year old trans woman in Chicago, Cathy Van Bruggen and the suspucious death of  Santii Bonet Valentino.

Rest in power, Redd. Your vivacity and determination set the world on fire. You deserved safety and respect. I am sorry we did not create a better world for you.

May your memory be a revolution.

This is Our List

This is our list of transgender, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming neighbors who have been victims of the campaign of terror in 2024. Please do not copy, modify, or share this list without attribution.

Things have grown so complicated that I have separated out the deaths dated to 2024 from those reported this year, but took place in another ye

1. Kitty Monroe – January 1, 2024. Phoenix, Arizona. Age 43.
2. Nex Benedict – February 8, 2024. Owasso, Oklahoma. Age 16.
3. Righteous Torrence ‘T K’ Chevy Hill – February 29, Atlanta. Georgia. Age 35.
4. Reyna Hernandez – Between Feb 28 and March 28, location TBD. Age 54.
5. Diamond Cherish Brigman – March 16, 2024, Houston, Texas. Age 36.
6. Alex Franco – March 19, 2024. Salt Lake City, Utah. Age 21.
7. Meraxes Medina – March 19, 2024, Los Angeles, California. Age 24.
8. Cecilia Gentili – February 6, 2024, New YorkCity, New York. Age 52.
9. Lagend Billions aka Tee Arnold – April 7, 2024, Miami, Ohio. Age 36.
10. África Parrilla García – February 2, 2024, San Juan, Puerto Rico. Age 25.
11. Nevaeh ‘River’ Goddard – April 5, 2024,. Stow, Massachusetts. Age 17,
12. Andrea Doria Dos Passos – April 22, 2024, Miami, Florida. Age 37.
13. Sasha Williams – January 26, 2024, Las Vegas, Nevada. Age 36.
14. Kita Bee – May 3, 2024, Kansas City, Missouri. Age 46.
15. Starr Brown – April 19, Memphis, Tennessee. Age 28.
16. Jazlynn Johnson – May 6, 2024, Carson City, Nevada. Age 18.
17. Michelle Henry – May 15, 2024, San Francisco, California. Age 25.
18. Tayy Dior Thomas – May 7, 2024, Mobile, Alabama. Age 17
19. Pauly Likens – June 23, 2024, Sharon, Pennsylvania. Age 14
20. Shannon Boswell – July 2, 2024, Atlanta, Georgia. Age 30.
21. Liara Kaylee Tsai – June 22, 2024, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Age 35.
22. Kenji Spurgeon – July 1, 2024, Seattle, Washington. Age: 23
23. Monique Brooks – July 19, 2024. Orlando, Florida. Age 59.
24. Dylan Gurley – July 24, 2024. Denton, Texas. Age 20.
25. Tai Lathan – August 4, 2024. Baltimore, Maryland. Age 24.
26. Vanity Williams – August 3, 2024. Houston, Texas. Age 34.
27. Redd ‘Barbie’ Joseph – September 8, 2024. Chicago, Illinois. Age 25.

Deaths reported in 2024 but took place in other years or need to be monitored for more information.

• Ryan Zimmerman – Sept 2015, Columbus OH Age 21 Murdered 2016, Identified 2020, reported 2024.
• Unknown Name – June 17, Denver, Colorado. Age unknown.
• Paris Rich Jessup – 13 June 2022, San Diego, California. Age 25.
• Kit Nelson-Mora, – 2021/2022 Washington State, 2022. Age 18.
• Niomi Jenkins – May 2024 San Francisco
• Morgan Moore – May 2022, Maryland. Age 17.