Proudly powered by WordPress.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Designed & built by Avenue Design Studios.
Whispering Wind Bear Spirit, a 41-year-old Indigenous Non-Binary person is the most recent transgender or gender non-conforming person victim of fatal violence. Whispering Wind was shot to death by a 19-year-old man during a botched robbery attempt of their home. Whispering Wind Bear Spirit, 41, died of a single gunshot wound sustained during an attempted […]
Her name was Jenna Franks. On Wednesday, February 24, 2021, the body of 34-year-old Jenna Franks was discovered in Jacksonville, North Carolina. From The Daily News (misgendering and deadnaming at that link): According to a news release from JPD, Jacksonville City Street personnel were clearing the ditch area when they saw a body located in the […]
Earlier this week, we reported on the tragic shooting death of 22-year-old Jasmine Cannady and younger brother, Jeffrey ‘JJ’ Bright, in Ambridge, Beaver County, Pennsylvania. At that time, we noted that JJ identified as a trans male teen, having begun his transition at age 12. He was 16 at the time of his death. Since […]
Another tragedy involving a trans neighbor unfolded Monday, February 22 in Ambridge, Beaver County, Pennsylvania when a 48-year-old mother shot both of her young adult children in the head, killing them at the scene inside the family home. 22-year-old Jasmine Cannady and younger brother, 16-year-old Jeffery ‘JJ’ Bright died. JJ has been repeatedly misgendered and […]
Her name was Chynaa Carrillo. She was a 24-year-old Latina trans woman. On Thursday, February 18, she was murdered by a man who was so intent on beating her to death that he refused police commands to stop and ended being killed himself. Her family told the media that Chynaa had recently started dating […]
“Thank you, Dr. Levine.” When I first heard about that President-elect Biden has selected PA Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine to be assistant secretary of health, I smiled. She’s been the embodiment of leadership throughout the pandemic in Pennsylvania and has many pre-pandemic accomplishments. She’s maintained dignity, calm, and adherence to science while navigating […]
This is a new limited-Q&A series focusing on Election Day. I’ve approached an array of regional folks to ask them the same seven questions about the election. This election is complicated in ways we never thought possible, but there are paths forward. Listening to what our neighbors are prioritizing and how they are framing the Biden/Harris […]
Earlier this year, I published two Q&A’s about the rapid changes to the Pennsylvania primary voting process, one with Kris Rust and one with Matt Merriman-Preston. In late July, I approached them about updating for the General Election. Then Trump swooped down on the United States Post Office and tried to break it. He literally […]
On Wednesday, May 25, 1988, I received my diploma from West Mifflin Area High School, a blue-collar suburb of Pittsburgh. A few weeks later, my parents had a graduation party for me as thousands of parents had done before. We had lots of food, tons of canned pop, and almost no guests. I don’t have […]
Dr. Rachel Levine, Pennsylvania’s Secretary of Health has made a statement about the unrelenting vitriol directed at her identity. I was so pleased that she squarely addressed how these attacks impact the entire transgender community. One thing people inevitably ask me about the Pittsburgh MasQUe ProjecT is if we have any documented evidence of trans […]
You must be logged in to post a comment.