Black LGBTQ+ Civil Rights Group Says Deadly Hit-and-Run Outside The Jeffery Pub, One of Chicago’s Oldest LGBTQ+ Bars Should Be Investigated as Hate Crime
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National Black Justice Coalition Says Chicago Police Must Treat Apparent Targeted Violence Against Black LGBTQ+/SGL People Seriously
Statement from Dr. David J. Johns, executive director of the National Black Justice Coalition, the nation’s leading Black LGBTQ+ and same-gender loving civil rights organization, on the need for Chicago police to investigate the deadly hit-and-run outside The Jeffery Pub, one of Chicago’s longest-running LGBTQ+ bars, as a hate crime:
“We are deeply saddened by the tragic, apparent act of targeted violence that resulted in the deaths of three people – Devonta K. Vivetter, 27 years old, Donald Huey, 25 years old, and Jaylen Ausley, 23 years old – and hospitalized a fourth person, outside The Jeffery Pub last night.
“It is incumbent upon the Chicago Police Department to investigate this attack as more than just a triple homicide and attempted murder, but also as a potential hate crime. Chicago is experiencing a wave of violence against LGBTQ+ people, specifically Black LGBTQ+/SGL people – that the police are simply not taking seriously.
“There have been more than seven Black trans women murdered in the last two years – and their cases remain unsolved and largely ignored.
“We are owed equal protection under the law – and we demand that the law enforcement community treat attacks against us with the urgency and seriousness we deserve.”
