LLG Coast to Coast for NAACP - Day 2
Day 2, the team has made it to Indianapolis, Indiana! We’ll continue to press on the gas and keep up with the miles as the donations come in. Thank you to all who have contributed - we are almost to our goal! Help us get there today as we raise $1 per mile for NAACP Legal Defense Fund.
As we continue to highlight Black stories of injustice, inequity, and police brutality in our #coasttocoastforchange journey, here’s one from Indianapolis. In October 2014 an officer stopped on the Eastside of Indianapolis as he had seen a person lying in the grass. The body was later identified as 25 year old Michelle (Tajson)* Sherman, who suffered a deliberate gunshot to the head. Michelle was a transgender woman of color, and throughout her life she was the victim of many assaults and abuses from multiple parties. Friends and family spoke of how she was friendly and cheerful, she was active in the community for trans rights and safety. The person responsible for Michelle’s death has still not been found and the case remains unsolved. The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs states that violence against transgender persons of color is higher than those of white transgender persons or cis persons of color. In addition to higher rates of violence, the black transgender community has higher rates of poverty with 38% reporting that they lived in poverty while only 12% of the whole US population reported living in poverty, it is even higher than the reported 29% of transgender people overall.
*Tajson was the birth name given to Michelle and is only stated because of the reports that were filed
Sources:
http://avp.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/2014_HV_Report-Final.pdf
https://www.indystar.com/story/news/crime/2014/10/27/womans-body-found-far-eastside/17992403/
http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/lgbt/Trans-woman-of-color-killed-in-Indianapolis/49493.html
https://transequality.org/sites/default/files/docs/usts/USTS-Full-Report-Dec17.pdf