NBJC

WASHINGTON, DC —The National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC) mourns the loss of Mia Green and Kee Sam, two Black transgender women who were killed recently. 

Kee Sam, a 24-year-old Black trans woman was found unresponsive with a gunshot wound in a hotel room in Lafayette, Louisiana on August 12, 2020. She died as a result of her injuries the following day. There is an active investigation into her death. A 16-year-old suspect has been arrested in connection to the shooting. Friends are remembering Sam on her Instagram where expressions of disbelief and enduring love have been memorialized. 

Mia Green, another Black trans woman who was 29 years young, was found suffering from a gun shot wound in the passenger’s seat of a car driven by Abdullah Ibn Elamin Jaamia. Green’s condition was made apparent when Jaamia was pulled over after running a stop sign in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Green was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead on Monday, September 28, 2020. Jaamia has been charged with her murder. Deja Lynn Alvarez, trans community activist said Mia Green was well-loved and respected by everyone in the community and an amazing, beautiful person. Statistically speaking the most common perpetrators of violence against trans women are not random people committing hate crimes but domestic partners, which is the case with Mia Green who, we understand, had a long and intimate relationship with Jaamia.

“Not a week goes by that my timeline and mind are free of news another of my sisters has been murdered.” said Sage Dolan-Sandrino, NBJC Black Trans Advisory Council Member. “Our lives continuously lost, taken, ended by violent silence. We are blamed for our marginalization, our poverty, our health needs, our homelessness, our school push out, our humanity, our deaths—trans girls I LOVE YOU. I love us. I love you out-loud, openly, and honesty. But my love is not enough. My anger is not enough. My heartbreak is not enough. I need ALL of my siblings to rally behind you. To scream your name. To bring you justice. To step up and keep this from happening again…and again. I am tired but I will not rest. I will keep up my fight for you, for us. I love you sisters.”

“It is essential that all of us work to disrupt the violence Black trans women experience all too often,” said NBJC Executive Director David J. Johns. “Our community needs to do more.  We need to vote for politicians who will work to end the epidemic of violence, pay and draw attention to cases of violence to show Black trans women that we notice them and the pain they are experiencing and are focused on ending transphobia in our communities and in the country at large. Have the conversation. Disrupt misogyny and trans misogynoir and make it clear that these disposable transgressions against our siblings will not be tolerated.”

NBJC’s Words Matter Gender Justice Toolkit provides a resource to dismantle the existing powerful structures that perpetuate violence against Black women and girls—both cisgender and transgender—as well as gender nonconforming people. 

To demand a fair, full and public investigation for Kee Sam call the Lafayette Police Department at 337-291-8600. 

Philadelphia Police Department Headquarters phone number: 215-686-1776