Q&A with Blogger Mark S. King about Awards, HIV Storytelling, and Finding Hope in a Pandemic

Mark S. King GLAAD Award

As the reigning GLAAD OUTstanding LGBTQ Blog from 2019, it has been my duty to to pass the title and tiara to the 2020 winner, Mark S. King from My Fabulous Disease. While he’s been getting a lot of mileage from his Susan Lucci status as ‘always a bridesmaid, never a bride’ these past years, […]

Read This –> Op-Ed: Cleveland is an Epicenter for America’s Trans Murder Crisis

Transgender Murder Cleveland

It is both an honor and horrifying to be cited in an essay like this one, exploring the realities of the pandemic of violence Transgender American experience. I have only been documenting through my ‘In Memoriam’ series since 2013, but you can find much more data and personal details on the TDOR website, going back […]

For Your Consideration: The Case to Appoint Sue Kerr to Pittsburgh LGBTQIA+ Commission

Pittsburgh LGBTQIA Commission

In July 2020, Pittsburgh City Council unanimously approved the formation of a new commission focused on the LGBTQ community to replace the current Mayor’s LGBTQ Advisory Committee established in 2008 by Mayor Ravenstahl. Commissions serve the City residents, not just advising the Mayor. This is a change I first proposed in July 2019. From TheTrib: […]

Aja Raquell Rhone-Spears of Portland is latest Black Trans Woman Violently Killed

Her name was Aja Raquell Rhone-Spears. She was 34 years old when she was stabbed to death while attending a vigil in Portland on Tuesday, July 28, 2020. From Out.com According to police, Rhone-Spears was in attendance at the vigil near the 15800 block of Southeast Division which later moved to a home in the […]

32-Year-Old Black Trans Woman Tiffany Harris Fatally Stabbed in New York City

She was 32-years-old, a Bronx resident, and a Black trans woman who became the latest victim of the epidemic of violence the trans community experiences. She was stabbed multiple times in the chest about 1:35 a.m. Sunday during a confrontation inside the third-floor hallway of an apartment building on Jerome Ave. near W. 192nd St. […]

22-Year-Old Black Trans Woman Queasha D. Hardy Shot to Death in Baton Rouge

Queasha D. Hardy

Her name was Queasha Hardy. She was a 24-year-old Black trans woman who became the latest fatality in the epidemic of transphobic violence. Born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, she appears to have many friends and loved ones who are grieving her death.  Her Instagram feed is filled with images of women whose hair […]

22-year-old Latina Trans Woman Marilyn Cazares Killed in Southern California

Marilyn Cazares was a 22-year-old trans Latina when her body was discovered in an abandoned residential building on Tuesday, July 13, 2020 in Brawley, California. Brawley police are treating her death as a homicide even without releasing much information. Marilyn’s was discovered when authorities responded to a nearby couch fire. Local media, police, and Marilyn’s […]

We #AMPLIFY 16 Non-Binary Voices from Western Pennsylvania on International Nonbinary People’s Day

Non-Binary Stories

The AMPLIFY project is a series of Q&A’s with LGBTQ+ folks who have ties to Western Pennsylvania. Here are 16 contributors who identify as non-binary (or some variant of that spelling) – take a dive into their lived experiences. Meg, 28, is Nonbinary, Genderqueer, Polyamorous, and Pansexual #AMPLIFY Bebe Beretta, 27, is Nonbinary, Genderfluid, and […]

Happy International Nonbinary People’s Day 2020

Nonbinary umbrella

  Image created by @BlueBolt712        

Two Black Trans Women Found Dead in Separate Incidents in Louisiana

Draya McCarty and Shaki Peters

Within a week, Louisiana has lost two Black trans women to violence. Shaki Peters, 32, of Denham Springs was found dead off of Opal Bennett Road on July 1, near the town of Amite City, according to information from the St. Helena Parish Sheriff’s Office. She was misgendered and deadnamed by law enforcement and media […]