Unfinished Lives

Remembering LGBT Hate Crime Victims

DC Trans Murder ‘Possible’ Hate Crime

Tyli'a "NaNa Boo" Mack, Aram Vartian photo for the Blade

Tyli'a "NaNa Boo" Mack, Aram Vartian photo for the Blade

Washington, DC – Police found the bleeding body of Tyli’a “NaNa Boo” Mack, a 21-year-old transwoman of color on the sidewalk at 209 Q Street, N.W. on the afternoon of Wednesday, August 26.  She and a second transwoman had been stabbed after an apparent hate crime attack, according to the Washington Blade.  30 minutes later, Ms. Mack was pronounced dead at Howard University Hospital.  The second victim’s identity has not been released for her own protection, pending the success of the investigation of the Gay and Lesbian Unit of the D.C. police force, who are handling the case.  Sources in the G&L Unit report preliminarily that some homophobic and transphobic language may have been used by the attacker(s), and so the crime has been tentatively designated as bias motivated.  A $25,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons who carried out the fatal attack against Ms. Mack.  The Mack family, led by her mother, Beverlyn Mack, are encouraging anyone with information about the crime to come forward.  Both Ms. Mack and the surviving victim were clients of THE, Transgender Health Empowerment, a non-profit agency offering a range of programs and counseling to the transgender population of the District of Columbia.  Brian Watson, an official of THE, related an account of what happened in the attack according to the report given him by the surviving victim on Thursday.  According to the eye witness account as related by Watson, a man and a woman began an argument with Ms. Mack at the Giant Supermarket on Ninth and O Streets, N.W.  They followed the two transgender women as they headed from the supermarket toward the offices of THE at North Capitol and P Streets N.W., and the argument continued off and on for the whole 10 block journey.  As they reached the 200 block of Q Street N.W., the argument “escalated,” and the man stabbed both Ms. Mack and her friend.  Anthony Hall, executive director of THE, issued the following statement to the press: “As members of the transgender community, we are too well aware of the mental and physical effects of threats and violence. The violent attack on Aug. 26 is one in a long string of violence against transgender people in the Metro D.C. area.”

August 31, 2009 - Posted by | African Americans, anti-LGBT hate crime murder, harassment, Hate Crimes, Heterosexism and homophobia, Slurs and epithets, stabbings, transgender persons, transphobia, Washington, D.C., women | , , , , , , , , , , ,

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