From our friends at Kink.com —
The flag at the Armory will be lowered to half-mast this week to raise awareness about the death of Taja DeJesus, a 36-year old transgender woman who was brutally stabbed last Sunday in an apparent hate crime.
Unfortunately, the murder of Taja is far from a solitary event. In 2015 alone, we’ve seen similarly horrible attacks against trans and gender fluid people, including the murders of Lamia Beard in Virginia, Ty Unerwood in Texas and Yazmin Payne in Los Angeles. The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs has called the rise “an epidemic.” but it’s an epidemic many in mainstream media ignore.
At the Armory, this is personal. Our own community – performers, directors, educators and staff – is comprised of a wide variety of genders and sexualities. Many of us know all too well the fear and hatred that one risks by expressing love or gender in a way that doesn’t conform to narrow expectations. We can not and will not stand silent when those like us are being attacked and killed.
Tuesday’s protest for Taja De Jesus at SF City Hall
We ask that members of the San Francisco community join us in the fight for greater trans rights, awareness, healthcare. housing and safety by donating to the Transgender Law Center in San Francisco or Trans: Thrive (where Taja volunteered) or any of the organizations in the Trans Advocacy Networlk which serve the community nationwide.
Transgender Law Center
https://transgenderlawcenter.secure.force.com/donate
Trans: Thrive
Trans Advocacy Network
http://transadvocacynetwork.org/
