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 […]

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 […]

Pennsylvania to Require Face Masks Whenever People Leave Their Homes

As a founder of The Pittsburgh MasQUe ProjecT I was pleased to learn that PA Secretary of Health Rachel Levine M.D. and Governor Tom Wolf have significant strengthened the guidelines for masquing up in Pennsylvania. Under today’s directive, everyone must wear a mask Gov. Tom Wolf and health secretary Dr. Rachel Levine on Wednesday expanded […]

Trans Woman Helle Jae O’Regan Murdered in San Antonio

Helle Jae O’Regan is the 11th transperson known murdered in the US during 2020. She died on Wednesday, May 6. She was 20 years old when she was murdered in a bizarre rampage at her San Antonio workplace – a hair salon. A man apparently denied services left the store, returned with a knife and […]

Pittsburgh Trans and Queer Face Mask Project Receives Donation of 3000 Masks

Lots of big news from the Pittsburgh MasQUe ProjecT Donation of 1,000 masks from City of Pittsburgh Donation of 2,000 masks through Global Links Partnering with Pittsburgh Equality Center as our fiscal sponsor Partnering with Center for Creative Reuse as fabric sponsor Working with Garden of Peace, SisTers PGH, Shepherd Wellness Community, True T PGH […]

Penélope Díaz Ramírez is the Third Trans Woman Murdered in Puerto Rico in Ten Day Period

Just days after reporting on the murders of two Latina teens women in Puerto Rico, we’ve learned of the brutal slaying of a third. Penélope Díaz Ramírez, a 31-year-old trans woman, was beaten and hanged to death at the Bayamon correctional complex, a men’s prison in Puerto Rico. She was murdered on April 13, but […]

Why does J.K. Rowling think her queer and trans fans don’t count?

(TW: transphobia, rape) I’m trying to figure out what’s motivating J.K. Rowling to defecate on her trans and queer fans from a great height, and I’m failing miserably. I’m also at a loss to figure out why the U.K. and Ireland seem to be a nexus for trans-exclusionary bullshit. I have some theories centering around […]

82 Trans Stories from Western Pennsylvania Honor Trans Awareness Week

Transgender Awareness Week

The week before Transgender Day of Remembrance on November 20, we have Transgender Awareness Week to help raise the visibility of transgender people and address issues the community faces. I’ve curated 82 stories from our #AMPLIFY project to illustrate the multi-faceted experiences of transgender neighbors in Western Pennsylvania. Our project asks people to describe their […]

Read These Northside #AMPLIFY Stories

Pittsburgh map - Northside highlighted in pink

We are in the midst of a fundraiser to organize AMPLIFY outreach throughout the 18 neighborhoods of the Northside. This will include working with the GSA at Perry Traditional Academy and other community groups. Now the Q&A does not ask about specific neighborhoods; we simply ask people to identity their county affiliations. But some people […]