Pgh Lesbian Correspondents

Her name was Shawmayné Giselle Marie McClam. She was a Black trans woman, just 27 years old, when she was murdered in a shooting in Gulfport, Mississippi on Tuesday, June 21, 2022. And now she is the 18th known trans person to be murdered in the US this year. Her sister is hospitalized in critical condition.

Two siblings were shot multiple times inside a Gulfport apartment early Tuesday morning. One is dead, and the other is fighting for her life. Now, the search is on for the person, or people, responsible.

The deadly confrontation happened just after midnight inside a residence at Emerald Pines Apartments.

Another sibling, a brother, was also inside the apartment at the time of the shooting, along with two children and the mother of the victims. None of them were physically injured by the intruder(s).

WLOX-13

On Thursday, police arrested a Gulfport man on first-degree murder and aggravated assault charges police said in a new release. Makhari Seven Gasaway, 20, was arrested Thursday and is being held at the Harrison County jail. Police said the shooting occurred after Gasaway and McClam got into an argument, and Gasaway pulled out a gun and started shooting.

He just shot her after an argument. And her sister. In front of their family, including children. He is 20 and now he is a murderer.

And sadly once again law enforcement and media misgendered her, forcing her family and friends to add the task of saying her name to their grieving rituals.

News of Shawmayné’s death means we have reported on the murder (by gunshot) of three women of color this week alone, right in the middle of Pride month. Around the Solstice and Juneteenth. These are not facts to be disregarded, they are context for the larger problem of racist transphobia in our society.

Shawmaynè was born and raised in Gulfport, where she attended Gulfport High School. She enjoyed dancing, being funny, and makeup. She worked as a Personal Care Assistant (PCA) and more recently a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) for nearly four years. She advocated on social media for trans folx, against colorism, and loved her streaming shows and movies. Tributes pouring in describe her as a genuinely nice, caring person who is obviously dearly missed.

Please send thoughts up for her sibling who is still in the hospital. There is a GoFundMe to help the family with final expenses.

Shawmaynè is the 18th transgender person reported as a victim of fatal violence in 2022. She is the eleventh Black trans woman and the fourteenth woman of color from these neighbors. At age 27, she is among the mean age of the victims. Her death means a trans neighbor has been murdered every 9.2 days in 2022 in the United States. To date the victims include 11 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 Shawmayné. You deserved so many years to share your light and vision with the world. Thank you for taking care of so many people in your community. I am sorry we did not do a better job creating safety for you. I hope you find peace.

May your memory be a revolution.

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.

Deaths in 2021 (see this link for deaths reported during the 2021 calendar year) These are deaths reported in 2022 and beyond.

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.