Murders Of Transgender Women Prompt Rally, 'Die-In' At San Francisco City Hall
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) -- Members of San Francisco's transgender community along with their supporters and advocates staged a symbolic die-in in front of City Hall Tuesday afternoon as part of an event called Trans Liberation Tuesday.
A crowd of more than 200 people rallied to action on the steps of City Hall spurred by the February 1st death of 36-year-old Taja de Jesus, a trans woman who was found stabbed to death in a Bayview Apartment complex stairwell.
The Trans Activists for Justice Accountability Coalition and its supporters hoped to demand that the city's Board of Supervisors help end what they call the systemic violence against the trans-community.
About 20 transgender women laid on the sidewalk for several minutes to call attention to the fact that already in 2015, six trans women of color have been violently murdered in the U.S.
"I want our allies to stop videotaping us with their phones and recording the hate that's committed against us and stand up for us instead of showing us like a circus act on YouTube," said one of the event's organizers, Danielle Castro.
Many at the event planned on attending the weekly Board of Supervisors meeting. There, they will demand the formation of a transgender specific mission to address the violence and create the resources— including housing for the community.
"If you're trans, you're a person! If you're gay, you're a person! If you're in this world, you're a person! If you kill us, we will come for you. We will educate you. We will let you know we are here!" said one of the speakers Sadaysha Shimmers.
Meanwhile, San Francisco Police said they don't believe de Jesus' murder was random and there is no evidence that it was a hate crime.
