'That Was My Sister', Transgender Murder Victim Muhlaysia Booker Laid To Rest
DALLAS, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - At 22 years old, Muhlaysia Booker became a murder victim in Dallas.
Tuesday morning, 400 people attended the transgender woman's funeral, including Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings. It was a celebration of Booker's life, and also a gathering of support for Dallas' LGBTQ community, specifically its African American community.
"Muhlaysia should be remembered in death, by honoring how she lived in life," Minister Bethany Freeman said during the service.
Booker was a victim of a brutal beating in April. The event was recorded and posted on social media. A mob of men attacked her, while others spewed homophobic pejoratives and slurs at her.
The video of the beating outraged Mayor Rawlings, who took to social media himself. Just over a month after Rawlings comments, Booker was found dead on a street, killed from a gunshot.
"I grew up with a brother who I loved, and later introduced to Muhlaysia, who I loved. That was my sister, my friend, and she meant a lot to me," Booker's sister La'Quincia Taylor said during the service.
Booker's mother told funeral attendees about her excitement raising her son Pierre. Stephanie Houston said she struggled as Pierre shared his desire to live his life as a transgender woman. "Love is action. If you look around, you can see. Muhlaysia was loved", she told the service congregants.
The Texas House of Representatives, State Senator Royce West and the Dallas City Council issued resolutions condemning the attacks against Booker and other Transgender victims.
"We are here to demonstrate what it means to be community and to stand together. We know we are stronger together, because love also wins over hate."
Dallas Police are investigating two other murders of transgender women. Like Booker, their deaths remain unsolved.