Editor’s note: Today’s story, which commemorates the Trans Day of Remembrance, includes descriptions of violence and bigotry against transgender people. The Wild Hunt believes it is important to our mission to acknowledge, report on, and remember the victims of this violence, given the importance of transgender people to the Pagan movement, but reader discretion is advised.
MIAMI – On November 17, 2020, Ygor Arrudasouza called the police to his apartment in downtown Miami at 4:25 AM. When they arrived, they found the body of a woman covered in blood with stab wounds from a fork and knife. Arrudasouza faces one count of second-degree murder and one count of aggravated battery.
The victim was Yunieski “Yuni” Carey Herrera, the first woman to change her Cuban passport to match her female identity.
Reports say that Arrudasouza “became enraged when she told him that she ‘had a better man than him.'” Arrudasouza has reportedly admitted to the crime.
[Yuni Carey via Facebook]
AUGUSTA, Ga. – Felycya Harris was an interior decorator. “She enjoyed lending her eye to improve the surroundings of others, and made others feel comfortable in their own space,” notes a Human Rights Campaign press release. “She said she could do ‘just about anything with decorating,’ which she learned from her late grandmother.”
Her body was found at a local park. She had been shot. Reports say that Harris is “the third transgender person to be killed in the area in the last year so she was not the only case of violence transgender women face in their own communities.”
Her mother pleaded we say her name.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Tony McDade – known to friends as “Tony the Tiger” – said in a video the night before his death that he had been attacked by five people. Rolling Stone reported that McDade vowed revenge on his attackers.
The details of what happened next are unclear, but McDade was shot and killed by a Tallahassee Police Department (TPD) officer. “I never heard, ‘Get down, freeze, I’m an officer,’” claims one witness. “I never heard nothing. I just heard gunshots.”
He was misgendered by the police and by subsequent reports.
[Tony McDade via the Human Rights Campaign]
A Gofundme page was created for McDade’s funeral expenses to help his mother. The Gofundme organizer wrote:
“While the grand jury declined to hand down indictments against the police officers, it expressed concern… It also noted that the officer who shot and killed McDade violated police department policy by not activating his body camera.
Shortly after the release of the grand jury’s report on Friday, Tallahassee Mayor John Dailey appealed for calm, noting “the pain and trauma that these incidents have caused, especially in our communities of color.”
The mayor called for a review of the police department’s use of deadly force and said he would seek to include a mental health component to how police respond to incidents.
McDade’s death coincided with nationwide protests over the murder of George Floyd. Tony’s Gofundme page has raised $251,411.
There are hundreds of similar stories from just this year. The 2020 data from the Transrespect project continues to show the scope of the tragedy and the challenges faced by the transgender community. According to the report:
- 350 trans and gender-diverse people were murdered, 6% more than in the Trans Murder Monitoring (TMM) update from 2019.
- 98% of those murdered globally were trans women or trans feminine people.
- 62% of murdered trans people whose occupation is known were sex workers.
- People of color make up 79% of the 28 trans people murdered in the USA.
- 11 trans people murdered in Europe; 50% were migrants.
- 82% of all the murders registered happened in Central and South America, with 43% in Brazil.
- 38% of the murders took place on the street, and 22% in their own residence.
- The average age of those murdered is 31 years old. The youngest reported was only 15 years old.
Trans Day of Remembrance (TDoR) is an annual observance on November 20 that honors the memory of transgender people whose lives were lost in acts of anti-transgender violence.
Today we honor the memory of those who perished because they led authentic lives. We take today to reflect on the powerful, magical resilience of the trans community.
We say the names of those we lost in the last year for their peace, for their justice and to end the violence.
In memoriam
Name Unknown, Puerto Vallarta (Mexico)
Name Unknown, Curitiba (Brazil)
Name Unknown, Patos (Brazil)
Paola Araujo, Teresina (Brazil)
Rony Gonçalves, Goiânia (Brazil)
Soledad Fernández, Zanja Pytá (Paraguay)
Michelly Almeida, União dos Palmares (Brazil)
La Diva, Guaduas de Cundinamarca (Colombia)
Vidalia Molina Delgado, Mazatenango (Guatemala)
Julia, Sobral (Brazil)
Deborah Carranza, San Pedro Sula (Honduras)
Hamsa, Hyderabad (India)
Name Unknown, Suchitepéquez (El Salvador)
Romanic, Curitiba (Brazil)
Michelly Faiffer, São Paulo (Brazil)
Lorena Vicente, São Paulo (Brazil)
Brianna “BB” Hill, Kansas City (USA)
Lina Marcela Jiménez Granados, Bucaramanga (Colombia)
I. D. da Silva, Petrolina (Brazil)
Name Unknown, Ciudad Juarez (Mexico)
Chicho Chirinos, La Plata (Argentina)
Anahy Miranda Rivas, San Salvador (El Salvador)
Bruna, Salvador (Brazil)
Bruna Soares, São Mateus (Brazil)
Name Unknown, Jacona (Mexico)
Name Unknown, Juiz de Fora (Brazil)
Name Unknown, Chihuahua (Mexico)
Paula Santos, Jequié (Brazil)
Jade Camila Diaz, Meanguera del Golfo (El Salvador)
Brighiit Mirón, La Gomera (Guatemala)
Pedrita, Ribeirão Preto (Brazil)
Daphine Kauane, Recife (Brazil)
Michelle “N”, Zihuatanejo (Mexico)
Gisella Corvalán, Santiago de Estero (Argentina)
Mónica de la Torre, Martínez de la Torre (Mexico)
Jerrika Rivas Ruíz, Bogotá (Colombia)
Victoria Pineda, Departamento de Ahuachapán (El Salvador)
La Pompis, Restrepo Valle (Colombia)
Sarita, Manaus (Brazil)
Pedrita, São Miguel dos Campos (Brazil)
Carol, Extremoz (Brazil)
Coral, Mexico City (Mexico)
Rafaella Sales, Linhares (Brazil)
Isabelly Prado, Tramandaí (Brazil)
Monica Coelho, Vilhena (Brazil)
Alejandra, Jacona (Mexico)
Name Unknown, Tehuantepec, Oaxaca (Mexico)
Rosa Granados, Loma Larga (El Salvador)
Name Unknown, Salina Cruz (Mexico)
Mufa Álava, Quito (Ecuador)
E.L., Kristianstad (Sweden)
Nicole, Toledo (Brazil)
Marcelle Brandina, Marília (Brazil)
Veronica de Oliveira, Santa Maria (Brazil)
Lorrana Martins dos Santos, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
Nikki Kuhnhausen, Vancouver (USA)
Name Unknown, Villa de Álvarez (Mexico)
Yahira Nesby, Brooklyn (USA)
Cristi Conde Vásquez, El Salvador (El Salvador)
Kendall, Santa Fé (Colombia)
Name Unknown, Montreal (Canada)
Andrea Nayhelli, Iztapalapa (Mexico)
Julie Berman, Toronto (Canada)
Luciana Robledo, Buenos Aires (Argentina)
Alice Nóbrega, Patos (Brazil)
Mia Perry, Washington (USA)
Ely Pimentel, Itaituba (Brazil)
Dustin Parker, Oklahoma City (USA)
Nare Mphela, limpopo (South Africa)
Jennifer Ávila, Guatemala City (Guatemala)
Selena Peixoto, Dilermando de Aguiar (Brazil)
Sapna, Moradabad (India)
Name Unknown, Zacatelco, Tlaxcala (Mexico)
Andressa, Curitiba (Brazil)
Vitoria dos Santos, Recife (Brazil)
Name Unknown, Fortaleza (Brazil)
Hans Acevedo, Guatemala City (Guatemala)
Brenda Landázury, Bogotá (Colombia)
Giselle Katrine, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
Name Unknown, Recife (Brazil)
Jussara Rios, Curitiba (Brazil)
Name Unknown, Jaú (Brazil)
Tamara, Saint-Petersburg (Russia)
Paulinha, Deodápolis (Brazil)
Name Unknown, Zulia (Venezuela)
Kimberley McRae, Sydney (Australia)
Name Unknown, Tarimbaro (Mexico)
Briyit Michelle Alas, Delgado City (El Salvador)
Fabiola, Salvador (Brazil)
Ana Clara Lima, Brasília (Brazil)
Name Unknown, San Salvador (El Salvador)
Ajita Bhujel, Kathmandu (Nepal)
Hilary Medina, Huila (Colombia)
Leticia, Boa Vista (Brazil)
Morgana Ribeiro, Santa Maria (Brazil)
Name Unknown, Medellin (Colombia)
Shakira, Chilpancingo (Mexico)
Name Unknown, Campo Bom (Brazil)
Bruna Oliveira, Natal (Brazil)
Mari de Bastos Lima, Santo Antônio do Leverger (Brazil)
Name Unknown, García (Mexico)
Wedylla Brenner Darack, Rolim de Moura (Brazil)
Roberta Barbajal, La Plata (Argentina)
Isabelle Colstt, Florianopolis (Brazil)
Name Unknown, Nuevo León (Mexico)
Samantha do Valle, Florianopolis (Brazil)
Guadalupe, Estado de Mexico (Mexico)
Joyce Berlim, Limoeiro (Brazil)
Dorete Lopes Leal, Agricolândia (Brazil)
B. Mimbela del Águila, Lima (Peru)
Sabrina Sampaio, Conselheiro Lafaiete (Brazil)
Valera, Chelyabinsk (Russia)
Nicol, San Cristóbal de las Casas (Mexico)
Thabata Oliveira Blus, Belo Horizonte (Brazil)
Mamta, Ahmedabad (India)
Nenem, Campinas (Brazil)
Katarina Ariel, São Paulo (Brazil)
Name Unknown, Natal (Brazil)
Isabelle Oliveira, Augustinópolis (Brazil)
Monique Matias Chagas, Missão Velha (Brazil)
Bruna Karla, Quilombo (Brazil)
Ritchely Silva, Ceará Mirim (Brazil)
Name Unknown, Uruapan (Mexico)
Lara Argento, Roma (Italy)
Gaby, Anapolis (Brazil)
Gabrielly Vanderguel, Itaperuna (Brazil)
Jessyca Sarmiento, Paris (France)
Bruna Andrade, Florianopolis (Brazil)
Maria Eduarda Aires Dias, Encruzilhada do Sul (Brazil)
Alexa Murder, Toa Baja (Puerto Rico)
Name Unknown, Fortaleza (Brazil)
Name Unknown, Araguari (Brazil)
“La Chachis” / “La Tocha”, Zamora, Michoacan (Mexico)
Ali Mamani Huamani, Arequipa (Peru)
Meenu, Gurugram (India)
Alexia Freires Pereira, Betim (Brazil)
Alexa Negrón Luciano, Toa Baja (Puerto Rico)
Yampi Méndez Arocho, Moca (Puerto Rico)
Karly Sasha Chinina Palomino, Buenos Aires (Argentina)
Patsy Andrea, Chihuahua (Mexico)
Tita, La Unión (El Salvador)
S. Coronel Guerrero, Emiliano Zapata (Mexico)
Talita, Belo Horizonte (Brazil)
Ludmila Nascimento dos Santos, Alagoinhas (Brazil)
Isadora, Belo Horizonte (Brazil)
Name Unknown, Mexico City (Mexico)
Name Unknown, Embu-Guaçu (Brazil)
Stephanie Cardona Matías, Mixco (Guatemala)
Valeria Belem, Americana (Brazil)
Name Unknown, Chihuahua (Mexico)
Vijji, Bangalore (India)
Monika Diamond, Charlotte (USA)
Rafhynha Pimenta, Arapiraca (Brazil)
Britany, Hermosillo Sonora (Mexico)
Paloma, Caruaru (Brazil)
La Marquesa, Minatitlan (Mexico)
Kelly, Caruaru (Brazil)
Daniela Sauceda, Chihuahua (Mexico)
Karla Valentina N, San Felipe (Mexico)
Naomi Nicole “La Soñaré”, Mexico City (Mexico)
Name Unknown, Cariacica (Brazil)
Lexi, New York (USA)
Name Unknown, El Zapote (Mexico)
Name Unknown, Chihuahua (Mexico)
Luisa Sandoval Lemus, Puerto Barrios (Guatemala)
Jennifer Alcantara, Dourados (Brazil)
Fabiola Pereira Andrade, Jequié (Brazil)
Rayka França, Querência (Brazil)
Musa, Faisalabad (Pakistan)
J.F. do Nascimento Martins, Bayeux (Brazil)
Mira, Jakarta (Indonesia)
Name Unknown, Ilheus (Brazil)
Name Unknown, Pirapora (Brazil)
Sasha Santos, Aracaju (Brazil)
Ana Karen Velasco Castelán, Veracruz (Mexico)
Johanna Metzger, Baltimore (USA)
Luana Alves, Majé (Brazil)
Name Unknown, Veracruz (Mexico)
Leca do Beral, Patos (Brazil)
Penelope Diaz Ramirez, Bayamon (Puerto Rico)
Paloma Salas Jiménez, Barranquilla (Colombia)
Mafer Marbella Santos, Amatitlan (Guatemala)
Name Unknown, Uruapan (Mexico)
Leticia, Cumaru do Norte (Brazil)
Oscar, Tuxtepec, Oaxaca (Mexico)
Layla Peláez Sánchez, Humacao (Puerto Rico)
Serena Angelique Velázquez Ramos, Humacao (Puerto Rico)
Eduarda, Manhuaçu (Brazil)
Name Unknown, São Paulo (Brazil)
Leto, Ilheus (Brazil)
M.D. Alberto, Pablo Nogues (Argentina)
Natasha Lobato, Francisco Morato (Brazil)
Diamante, Veracruz (Mexico)
Marianne Andreolli, Osaco (Brazil)
Jade dos Santos, Salvador (Brazil)
Fernanda de Souza Paiva, Sobradinho (Brazil)
Nina Pop, Sikeston (USA)
Name Unknown, Natal (Brazil)
Luz Clara, La Ceiba (Honduras)
Helle Jae O’Regan, San Antonio, Texas (USA)
Teresa C, Cosoleacaque (Mexico)
Fábia Oliveira, São Domingos (Brazil)
Name Unknown, Pratinha em Muriaé (Brazil)
Heerawas, Jhelum (Pakistan)
Jayne Thompson, Colorado (USA)
Name Unknown, San Mateo Capultitlan (Mexico)
Name Unknown, Juiz de Fora (Brazil)
Robertina Santos, Itabuna (Brazil)
Harini, Warangal (India)
Paula, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
Name Unknown, Fortaleza (Brazil)
Jesusa Fidel Ventura Reyes, Veracruz (Mexico)
Name Unknown, Taubaté (Brazil)
Karlotta, Bello Horizonte (Nicaragua)
Tony McDade, Tallahassee (USA)
Cryslaibe de Manaus, São Paulo (Brazil)
Alejandra Monocuco, Bogotá (Colombia)
Michael, Cancun (Mexico)
Fernanda Antelo, Santa Cruz (Bolivia)
Selena Reyes-Hernandez, Chicago (USA)
Valentina Ferrety, Salamanca, Guanajuato (Mexico)
Jade, Porto Real do Colégio (Brazil)
Grampoula, Porto Velho (Brazil)
Keila Nunes, Barra de Santa Rosa (Brazil)
Luanny Kell, Camocim (Brazil)
Riah Milton, Ohio (USA)
Dominique “Rem’mie” Fells, Philadelphia (USA)
Ketlin, Salvador (Brazil)
Essi Granlund, Vantaa (Finland)
Ariadna Ojeda, Santa Marta (Colombia)
Brian “Egypt” Powers, Ohio (USA)
Paulina, Anapolis (Brazil)
Ariadna, Santa Marta (Colombia)
Brandy Carolina Brown, Barranquilla (Colombia)
Márcia Shokenna Bastos da Silva, Maricá (Brazil)
Aysu Mammadli, Baku (Azerbaijan)
M.R. Saravia, Villanueva (Honduras)
Name Unknown, Teresina (Brazil)
Babalu, Pacajus (Brazil)
Brayla Stone, Little Rock (USA)
Anel Valenzuela, Fortín (Mexico)
Lady Gaga, Recife (Brazil)
Marceli Souza, Cruzeiro (Brazil)
Fernanda Machado, Rio Branco (Brazil)
Name Unknown, Aparecida de Goiania (Brazil)
Eilyn Catalina, Medellín (Colombia)
Veronica Ferreira Lima, Londrina (Brazil)
Merci Mack, Dallas (USA)
Shaki Peters, Amite City (USA)
Vicky dos Santos, Itu (Brazil)
Vida Borges de Melo, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
Bree Black, Florida (USA)
Yandra Karony Santos, Santo Amaro da Purificação (Brazil)
Mateus López Mejía, Circasia (Colombia)
Summer Taylor, Seattle, Washington (USA)
Name Unknown, Medellín (Colombia)
Kaushik Sunil Narayan Kar, Mumbai (India)
Carol Eleoterio da Silva, Sobral (Brazil)
Leidy Padilla Daza, Valledupar (Colombia)
Scarlet Cáceres, Tegucigalpa (Honduras)
Cristal Romero Matos, El Porvenir (Peru)
Soraya Oliveira, Fortaleza (Brazil)
Marilyn Cazares, Brawley (USA)
Tifany Alves Medeiros, Recife (Brazil)
Leona, Viana (Brazil)
Bombom, Natal (Brazil)
Rhyanna Mabelly Spanick, Iguatu (Brazil)
Manuela de Cassia, Milan (Italy)
Steffany Dior, Roma (Italy)
Pablo Iván F, Zamora, Michoacan (Mexico)
Monic Martínez, Comayagüela (Honduras)
Exón Vélez, Provincia de los Ríos (Ecuador)
Tiffany Harris, New York (USA)
Doroty Balbino de Lima, Caaporã (Brazil)
Queasha D Hardy, Baton Rouge (USA)
Denisse Torres, Minatitlán (Mexico)
Cristhal López, La Ceiba (Honduras)
Aja Raquell Rhone-Spears, Portland (USA)
Raiane Rodrigues dos Reis, Sinop (Brazil)
Josselin, Guatemala City (Guatemala)
Name Unknown, Fortaleza (Brazil)
Brenda Venegas Ayquipa, Lima (Peru)
Luisa Ávila Henao, Buga (Colombia)
Name Unknown, Santo Antônio de Jesus (Brazil)
Name Unknown, São Bernardo do Campo (Brazil)
Samira, Belo Horizonte (Brazil)
Paloma, Feira de Santana (Brazil)
Name Unknown, Fortaleza (Brazil)
Alice Garrefa, Americana (Brazil)
Brigit, Morelos (Mexico)
Leticia Costa, Fortaleza (Brazil)
Vanessa Solorsano, San Miguel de Tucumán (Argentina)
Kee Sam, Lafeyette (USA)
Barbara Ellen, Contagem (Brazil)
Samantha Rosales Barrios, Atlixco (Mexico)
Anushka, Suththamalli (India)
Bhavani, Suththamalli (India)
Francesca Galatro, Vallo (Italy)
Emily Taylor, Frutal (Brazil)
Piya, Kamoke, Punjab (Pakistan)
Dani Rodrigues, Cratéus (Brazil)
Patricia Dumont, Santa Marta (Colombia)
Julie Torres, Guadalajara (Mexico)
Claudinha Leite, Canindé de São Francisco (Brazil)
Bernadete, Igarapé Grande (Brazil)
Lorena María del Luján Riquel, Rosario (Argentina)
Luara Redfeld, Mairinque (Brazil)
Name Unknown, Santa Fe (Argentina)
Isabella Pedrozo, Porto Alegre (Brazil)
Name Unknown, Acapulco (Mexico)
Angoori, Karachi (Pakistan)
Name Unknown, São Bernardo do Campo (Brazil)
Britani Jacqueline, Jalisco (Mexico)
Brandy Cortez, Puente Nacional (Mexico)
Name Unknown, Acapulco (Mexico)
Jeanine Huerta López, Tijuana (Mexico)
Nida Choudhry, Muzaffar Garh (Pakistan)
Branca Aldama, Fortaleza (Brazil)
Melody Barrera, Guaymallén (Argentina)
Brenda Levi, San Juan Luringancho (Peru)
Name Unknown, Acapulco (Mexico)
Mireya Rodriguez, Aquiles Serdán (Mexico)
Chiara Duarte, São Paulo (Brazil)
Katherine Rosmery Duvall, Ilopango (El Salvador)
Gabriela Cruz Pimentel, San Miguel (Peru)
Ekta Joshi, New Delhi (India)
Leslie Alejandra Ferreti, Juarez City (Mexico)
Giovana Perez, Marajá do Sena (Brazil)
Kathlyn Aviles, Bacolod (Philippines)
B.E. Álvarez Hernández, Copacabana (Colombia)
Gul Parana, Peshawar (Pakistan)
Saad, Swabi (Pakistan)
Nem, Sobral (Brazil)
Name Unknown, Resende (Brazil)
Susana Criado Anton, Oviedo (Spain)
Jardiele Santos, Maceio (Brazil)
Name Unknown, Juarez City (Mexico)
Name Unknown, Marechal Deodoro (Brazil)
Aerrion Burnett, Independence (USA)
Barbie Macon, Salvaterra (Brazil)
A.V., Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic)
Brenda Sanchez, La Plata (Argentina)
Juliana Giraldo Díaz, Miranda (Colombia)
Sandra Beatriz Rangel, Londrina (Brazil)
Francesca Cornejo, Cordoba (Argentina)
Mia Green, Philadelphia (USA)
Rayssa, Umbauba (Brazil)
Donna Nierra, Caloocan (Philippines)
Michellyn Ramos Vargas, San Germán (Puerto Rico)
Michele, São José da Laje (Brazil)
[Source: Transrepect.org]
And the many others whose names were unreported and whose authentic lives were not acknowledged.
What is remembered, lives.
Please consider visiting Trans Respect vs. Transphobia Worldwide or GLAAD to learn more.
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