JUDY WOODRUFF: There is growing concern in
this country and fear about deadly attacks
against transgender Americans, particularly
trans women of color.
As Amna Nawaz tells us, a series of murders
in different cities in just one week has underscored
a larger pattern of violence over several
years.
And yet it comes at a time when trans celebrities
are more accepted and more prominent in pop
culture.
AMNA NAWAZ: Judy, the most recent killing
took place last Sunday in north Philadelphia.
Michelle "Tamika" Washington, 40 years old
and a longtime advocate for the LGBTQ community,
was shot several times.
Her death came one day after Muhlaysia Booker
was found dead in Dallas.
Booker was just 23, and just weeks before
her death, she was attacked in a mob-like
beating after a minor traffic accident.
One week before those murders, 21-year-old
Claire Legato was shot in the head in Cleveland.
She was killed after an argument between her
mother and the suspected shooter.
Earlier this year, two more black transgender
women, Ashanti Carmon and Dana Martin, were
also killed.
Last year, more than two dozen transgender
people were killed.
And according to a 2018 Human Rights Campaign
report, there were at least 128 trans people
killed in 32 states since 2013; 80 percent
of them were people of color.
Let's now take a closer look at this now with
Beverly Tillery.
She's executive director of the Anti-Violence
Project, an LGBTQ anti-violence organization.
Beverly, welcome to the "NewsHour."
Thank you for being with us.
I want to start by asking you about this recent
state of killings.
They happened across the country.
The circumstances are all very different in
each case.
Do you know or believe that these women were
targeted because they were transgender?
BEVERLY TILLERY, Executive Director, Anti-Violence
Project: You know, I don't know all of the
specifics of each of these murders.
But what we know is, as you really just showed
already, that we are seeing a tremendous number
of homicides of trans women of color.
Over and over, for the past several years,
this has been consistent, and we need to pay
attention as a society.
This is something that's happening to our
community members who are constantly under
threat, experiencing other kinds of hate violence
in our society, and we need to step up and
come together and really do something to stop
it.
AMNA NAWAZ: Beverly, your organization tracks
the numbers.
You have been tracking them for 20 years.
BEVERLY TILLERY: That's right.
AMNA NAWAZ: When you look at the numbers,
as we know them this year, as compared to
last, there appears to be a reduction in the
violence.
Do you trust those numbers?
BEVERLY TILLERY: Well, what we always say
is that, even what we report, we know is an
underreporting of the violence that's happening
and the homicides that's happening.
A number of homicides -- and, of course, we
can't tell you how many -- don't ever get
reported for a number of reasons.
In some cases, we know that trans and gender-nonconforming
folks are misgendered by the police.
They may not have community members who and
friends and family members who will step up
and say, this is who this person really was.
And we just know that a lot of this goes under
the radar, unfortunately.
Really, we shouldn't get into a game of trying
to compare this year to last year, when did
the homicides happen.
You know, it really doesn't matter.
This is a huge crisis, and we have to take
action now.
We have known about this for years now.
And we should have taken action last year
and the year before, but it's not too late
now.
AMNA NAWAZ: Let's talk about the action we
have seen.
In Dallas alone, right, there were three brutal
attacks in the last several months, two of
them fatal.
BEVERLY TILLERY: Yes.
AMNA NAWAZ: The mayor came out and said, this
is unacceptable.
He called it mob violence, the attack against
Muhlaysia Booker.
What you have seen in law enforcement in the
way of response?
Are you satisfied with what you're seeing?
BEVERLY TILLERY: Well, we're not satisfied.
We don't necessarily see a response that is
saying, this is more than just a trend.
This is an epidemic in our society that needs
to be addressed and taken seriously.
And, frankly, you know, more and more community
members are reluctant to turn to law enforcement,
because members of the trans and gender-nonconforming
community and, in fact, members of the LGBTQ
community have experienced violence from the
police.
They don't trust the police.
AMNA NAWAZ: Beverly, it's worth noting we
are speaking on the same day the Trump administration
has rolled back some health care protections
for trans people.
Earlier this week, there was another rule
they put in place allowing federal shelters
receiving funds to turn away trans people
serving -- seeking services there.
There's also the efforts to push a transgender
military ban here.
What effect have all of these even just proposals
had on the trans community?
BEVERLY TILLERY: Yes.
I mean, talk about a complete slap in the
face.
You know, the timing is really important to
note here because, on the heels of these homicides,
where the community is already reeling, for
the administration to, one after the other,
release these proposed guidelines and rules
this week, it's clear that they do not care
about the trans and gender-nonconforming community.
And, in fact, in the work that we have been
doing in the city of New York and across the
country, when we have brought together trans
and gender-nonconforming folks to talk about
what are the ways we need our cities and our
states and the nation to respond to this violence
and to help prevent violence, people over
and over again have told us, we need housing,
we need access to employment, we need better
health care, so that we can put ourselves
in safer circumstances and so we're not as
vulnerable to violence that's happening in
our community.
And what does the administration do?
Seek to strip away access to health care,
to housing, to employment.
You know, all of the things that people have
actually articulated that they need to address
the violence, the administration is trying
to take away.
AMNA NAWAZ: Beverly Tillery, executive director
of the Anti-Violence Project, thanks for being
with us today.
BEVERLY TILLERY: Thank you so much for having
me.
