TEXT AND PHOTOS BY MIKA TURBERVILLE | Black and Latinx trans people are dying at an alarming rate—being murdered for their very existence.

In response to the murder of Muhlaysia Booker, who, at only 23, was shot just weeks after surviving a vicious assault—and in remembrance of the other numerous royal transgender women who have lost their lives to violence this year—a “Hands Off Our Trans Bodies” rally was held in Washington Square Park on May 24, organized by the New York Transgender Advocacy Group.

After the event, during the time this film was being developing, yet another black trans woman was found dead, when the body of 26-year-old Chynal Lindsey was pulled out of the marshy White Rock Lake.

Remember the dead, and fight like hell for the living. Say their names:

Chynal Lindsey

Dana Martin

Ashanti Carmon

Jazzaline Ware

Claire Legato

Muhlaysia Booker

Michelle Tamika Washington

Rest in Power, Royals.

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