From left, Shaki Peters, Draya McCarty and Bree Black

Three and possibly four more Black transgender women have been murdered in the U.S. since 22-year-old Merci Mack was shot to death June 30 in Dallas, according to the National Black Justice Coalition: Tatiana Hall, 22, was murdered in Irvington, N.J., on or near June 30; Shaki Peters, 32, was murdered July 1 in Amite City, La., and Bree Black, 24, was murdered July 3 in Pompano Beach, Fla.

Trans advocates in Louisiana have said that another Black trans woman, Draya McCarty, died within the last two weeks in Baton Rouge, but police have not classified her death as a murder and are not releasing information about the case. There has been little information released about Tatiana Hall, as well, with some sources indicating she was killed in Philadelphia.

Black’s murder brings the number of transgender people killed this year to 22, according to the NBJC.

In an emailed statement, NBLC Executive Director David J. Johns said:

“I dream of a world where we don’t have to wake up to see headlines of more of our sisters killed because of who they are and how they show up in the world — a world where the beautifully diverse contributions of Black trans women and girls are celebrated, not one where their lives are reduced to memes and hashtags.

“As we have marched in the streets for the past five weeks, and fought for our lives for the past 400 years, we must ensure that we are uplifting, supporting, and protecting our Black trans sisters too. For Black Lives to Matter, Black Trans Lives must Matter too.

“As we fight to overturn racist systems, we must fight to overturn the patriarchal systems that continue to perpetuate violence against Black women and girls, both trans and cis. Black women and girls have been leading the charge to fight police brutality and imagine a better future rooted in collective liberation. We must stand up and dream of a better world for them too.

“Merci, Draya, Shakie, Bree and Tatiana mattered. Brayla, Riah and Remmie [Black trans women murdered earlier in June] mattered.

“We have to make space to talk, both publicly and privately, about the labor that Black women and girls invest to ensure that our families, community and country are safe and supportive spaces in spite of anti-Blackness. We also have to talk about the violence they face from grown boys who also allow their pain and trauma to go undiscussed and untreated. As we call for justice for Black people, we must call for and work toward justice for all Black people.”

SAY THEIR NAMES

Transgender people known to have died violently so far this year are:

  • Dustin Parker, 25, a white trans man, was shot to death in the early hours of Jan. 1, in McAlester, Okla., while working as a taxi driver.
  • Neulisa Luciano Ruiz, aka Alexa, a Puerto Rican trans woman, was shot to death Feb. 24 in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico, after being harassed for using the women’s restroom at a McDonald’s restaurant.
  • Yampi Mendez Arocho, 19, a Puerto Rican trans man, was shot to death March 5 in Moca, Puerto Rico. According to reports, he had been physically assaulted about five hours before he was shot to death.
  • Monika Diamond, 34, a Black trans woman, was shot to death March 18 in Charlotte, N.C.
  • Lexi, 33, a trans woman, was stabbed to death March 28 in Harlem River Park, Harlem, N.Y.
  • Johanna Metzger, 25, a white trans woman from Philadelphia who was stabbed to death April 11 in Baltimore, Md., where she had gone to access services at a recovery center.
  • Penelope Diaz Ramirez, 31, a Puerto Rican trans woman, killed at the Bayamon correctional complex in Puerto Rico on April 13. Her death was not reported until April 27.
  • Serena Angelique Velazquez Ramos, 32, a trans woman from Queens New York who was found burned to death in a car with another trans woman, Layla Pelaez Sanchez, April 21 while visiting in Humacao, Puerto Rico.
  • Layla Pelaez Sanchez, 21, a Puerto Rican trans woman, was found burned to death in a car in Humacao, Puerto Rico on April 21, along with with trans woman Serena Angelique Velazquez Ramos who was visiting from Queens, N.Y.
  • Nina Pop, 28, a Black trans woman, was stabbed to death May 3 inside her apartment in Sikeston, Mo.
  • Helle Jae O’Regan, 20, a white trans woman, was choked unconscious and then stabbed to death May 6 while working at a barber shop in San Antonio.
  • Jayne Thompson, 33, a white trans woman from Bisbee, Az., was shot to death May 9 by a Colorado state trooper in Mesa County, on the western border of Colorado.
  • Tony McDade, 38, a Black trans man, was shot to death by police in Tallahassee, Fla., on May 28.
  • Selena Reyes-Hernandez, 37, a Latinx trans woman, was shot to death May 31 in Chicago after telling her assailant, 18-year-old Orlando Perez, that she was transgender. Perez told police that after killing Reyes-Hernandez, he returned to the scene and shot her lifeless body several more times because he was so angry.
  • Dominique “Rem’mie” Fells, 27, a Black trans woman, was found in the water of the Schuylkill River on June 9. She had suffered trauma to her face and head, and her legs had been severed mid-thigh.
  • Riah Milton, 25, a Black trans woman, was shot to death June 9 in Liberty Township, Ohio.
  • Brayla Stone, 17, was shot to death June 25 in Sherwood, a suburb just north of Little Rock, Ark., in what appears to have been a murder for hire. Instagram user “@tapnseason” posted a now-deleted video showing $100 bill s and bragging that he had been paid $5,000 to kill Stone.
  • Draya McCarty, a Black. trans woman, was found dead in late June in Baton Rouge. Police there have not ruled her death a homicide and are releasing very little information.
  • Merci Mack, 22, a Black trans woman, was shot to death June 30 in Dallas.
  • Tatiana Hall, 22, a Black trans woman, was murdered in Irvington, N.J., on or near June 30.
  • Shaki Peters, 32, a Black trans woman, was found murdered July 1 in Amite City, La.
  • Bree Black, 27, a Black trans woman, was shot to death July 3 in Pompano Beach, Fla.

— Tammye Nash