#JUSTICE FOR LAYLEEN

[granvarones]

layleen xtravaganza cubilette-polanco was a fixture in the new york city’s ballroom scene. she was a member of the legendary house of xtravaganza. she was loved by family, friends and community. her sister describes her as the light of any room and the most loving person in the world. layleen’s life mattered. it has been over a year since layleen was found dead in her cell while being held in solitary confinement at riker’s island. autopsy reports determined that layleen died due to an epileptic seizure. but layleen, who should not have been placed in solitary confinement because of her extensive medical history of epilepsy, died due to the gross negligence of riker’s staff and the violence of the prison industrial complex. layleen’s death is a devastating loss to her family, the house of xtravaganza and the new york trans and queer community. her loss also serves as a reminder that solitary confinement is inhumane and that prisons must be abolished. now! on june 14, 2020, the brooklyn liberation march, the largest transgender-led and based in history took place around the brooklyn museum in brooklyn, new york. organized by the okra project and the marsha p. johnson institute, the march was attended by an estimated 15,000 people. one speak of at rally was layleen’s sister, melania brown. in her speech, brown said, “Black trans lives matter! my sister’s life mattered! all of the loved ones we have most, all of those beautiful girls we have lost, their lives matter.” rest in eternal power, layleen. we will continue to fight for you and all Black trans women.

[burymyart]

FREE POSTER honoring the life of Layleen Polanco Xtravaganza who was an Afro-Latinx Trans Womxn found dead in her cell on RIKERS ISLAND on June 7, 2019. Layleen Xtravaganza was a member of the house-ballroom community House of Xtravaganza and was known for walking the category of realness at balls. She is the 10th reported Black Trans womxn to be killed this year. We ask you to honor all Trans womxn, incarcerated womxn, Black livelihood, and call for prison abolition. REST IN POWER, LAYLEEN! As with all our posters, please feel free to print, wheatpaste, & disseminate at will (burymyart.tumblr.com). R.I.S.E.: Radical Indigenous Survivance & Empowerment

burymyart.tumblr.com instagram.com/RISEindigenous

[magdolenelives]

(x)

[strangesigils]

BLM SIGIL STREAM ON SATURDAY

I’m doing a livestream on twitch tomorrow June 13th at 1:00 PM Saskatchewan Time (for those of you new here, SK CST is a bit different from normal from normal CST because we don’t do daylight savings ever)

This is not a normal stream, I’m not filling out normal sigil requests for this, I’m specifically making sigils for the Black Lives Matter movement, because I’m seeing a lot less about it on social media and I think that’s fucked up because this shit is still happening. It’s not a weeklong fad, it’s a movement and a revolution and we need to keep standing behind it however we can. I will be making sigils for justice. “Justice For ... “ George Floyd Ahmaud Arbery Trayvon Martin Eric Garner Walter Scott Ernest Mweru Aiyana Mo’nay Stanley-Jones Philando Castille Tamir Rice Sandra Bland Alton Sterling Michael Brown Atatiana Koquice Jefferson Akai Gurley Megan Marie Hockaday Stephon Clark Emantic Fitzgerald Bradford Jr. Amandou Diallo Freddy Carlos Gray Jr. Jordan Edwards Jonathan Ferrel Korryn Gaines Alton Sterling Jamar Clark Jeremy McDole Layleen Polanco Muhlasia Booker Bettie Jones Terence Crutcher Oscar Grant Walter Lamar Scott

 If anybody has more names for me to add to the ‘justice for’ sigils that are not already listed here for me to make, feel free to send me a name with a link about what happened through personal message. For each of these sigils I post I will also be posting a publicly available photo of them and a link to what happened to them. I won’t be able to complete all of these in the stream, but I’ll be working on them outside of streaming when I have the time as well

I will be promoting my fundraiser for black LGBTQI+ refugees in Kenya who have been regularly attacked while trying to rebuild their burnt down homes (which were burnt down while they were away protesting the abuse of Ernest Mweru by the UNHCR which led to his suicide outside their offices) Even though we raised the minimum of $500 they had to pay for medical costs for medicine for members with diabetes, food for the injured, sick, children, and elderly, and ambulance fees for the people who’ve been attacked during building (I think they have 4 or 5 people in the hospital right now, other slightly less injured people are staying in the camp) the graphic images they send me of the brutal injuries they’ve sustained has been keeping me up at night for weeks. They only had enough money left to build 1 home and they’re using it for the children. They’re not black lives in america, but they’re queer black lives in a country and a refugee camp that wants them exterminated, and they matter. Click Here To Go To The GoFundMe I have set up As well as all fiverr proceeds for name sigils and other recreational sigils will go to the same cause As well as any redbubble profits I make (which is only a few cents for purchased item, the rest goes to redbubble so I’m not really going to recommend it for donation purposes)

I’ll still be reblogging posts for BLM  and Bail funds as well

[jewish-privilege]

For the past several days, I went to sleep thinking of Darnella Frazier — the courageous 17-year-old Black girl who filmed the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Because of her bravery and commitment to documenting Officer Derek Chauvin pressing his knee into Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes — yet another example of anti-Black policing — the world bore witness to the too-often fatal edge of racist police violence. The video of Floyd’s death, which revealed the outright lies the involved officers told, caused collective outrage. People poured into the streets of cities across the world, despite a global pandemic disproportionately affecting Black communities, to decry this heinous act of grave brutality. The video was a breaking point.

...I also noted how few of the anti-Black policing “victims’ list” posted and widely circulated included women and girls. I was disheartened more of these call-outs didn’t include the recent police killing of Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky. Although killed in March 2020, the emergency medical technician’s story only became more widespread in the past few weeks. During the violent execution of a no-knock warrant, police killed Taylor in a barrage of bullets that struck her at least eight times. Her killing fit within a troubling history of police killing Black women and girls in their homes.

Hearing Taylor’s story immediately conjured memories of police killing other Black women and girls, such as Atatiana Jefferson, Aiyana Stanley-Jones, and Pearlie Golden, in their own homes, where no brave bystanders could bear witness and record their senseless deaths at the hands of police. Not even their homes could offer safety from fatal violence initiated by those paid by our tax dollars “to protect and serve.” Golden was a 93-year old woman in mental distress. Stanley-Jones was a 7-year-old asleep in her bed. Jefferson was a 28-year-old playing video games with her nephew. Their lives mattered.

In 2015, when the African American Policy Forum released the #SayHerName report, the organization powerfully called out the recent history of police brutality against Black women and girls. Five years later, the push to acknowledge and rally around Black women and girls victimized by police violence remains an uphill battle. It can feel like screaming into a void when proclaiming that police kill Black women, girls, gender-variant and nonconforming people, and trans men at a disproportionate rate, too.

Black folks of all genders take to the streets to protest the stark reality that Black men and boys are disproportionately victims of police killings. The comparative lack of mobilized outrage for the killing of Black women and girls is an injurious erasure. It also begs the soul-crushing question: Why does killing Black women and girls warrant only a footnote in how we understand and reckon with police violence?

Police and state violence against Black women and girls in this nation began with the trans-Atlantic slave trade and continues through the deaths of Black women in police custody such as Diamond Ross, Layleen Polanco, Sandra Bland, Kindra Chapman, Ralkina Jones, and Joyce Curnell. This history encompasses lynchings, rampant sexual violence, physical assaults, and the criminalization of Black womanhood and girlhood. The convergence of anti-Black racism and sexism in U.S. history is a violent and too-often fatal force. Black women were “strange fruits hanging from poplar trees,” gang raped by white supremacists, assaulted on chain gangs while incarcerated, and forcibly sterilized as part of racist eugenics agendas. The countless examples, both documented and unknown, make it impossible to excise Black women and girls from any discussion of and movement against anti-Black violence in the United States.

...It’s time to broaden the scope of how we understand police brutality and whose deaths we mobilize around. To allow sexism to affect how we talk about and protest anti-Black racism and police brutality reveals a half-*ssed commitment to racial justice. The police killings of Black women, girls, and trans men need to be addressed in the ongoing struggle to end police violence against Black people. To #SayHerName can’t just be an empty gesture prompted by the demands of a few to see state-sanctioned killings of Black women and girls as worthy of viral campaigns and local, national, and global protests. That hashtag, as well as #BlackTransLivesMatter, are calls to action, to remembering, and to revealing a fuller truth about anti-Black police violence.

The intensification of protests over the past few days means awakening to the smell of state-sanctioned blood lust — a disturbing combination of remnants of tear gas, pepper spray, and fire. Although protests in cities like Louisville call out Breonna Taylor’s name and tell her story, it’s imperative for all engaged in the struggle against anti-Black police violence to invoke the names and tell the stories of Black victims of all genders. We should be in streets for them, too.

[womanistgrrrl]

In celebration of Ida and Assata’s birthdays, and because I felt energetic, able, and outraged, I went out to the Rally to Free Grace from Juvenile Detention.

Grace is a 15-year-old Black child who the state incarcerated during the Covid-19 pandemic because her school failed to make accommodations for her as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Without proper accommodations, it is difficult for Grace, who has ADHD, to keep up with schoolwork. And even if Grace did not have ADHD, sending a child to prison for not doing schoolwork is violent, cruel, and a violation of multiple civil and human rights.

Grace needs care not criminalization or cages and Judge Mary Ellen Brennan needs to resign immediately. She is a violent racist with no conscience and should not be occupying any position of power. Please read more about Grace’s story here.

Another reason I went out to the rally for Grace is that, although I will continue to fight for justice for Black women who are victims of state and vigilante violence and I will continue to #SayHerName, I want to fight for us while we are still here and do everything within my power to prevent our murder. 

We know from Sandra Bland, Layleen Polanco, Irene Bamenga, and Priscilla Slater’s stories that the state sentences Black women and girls to death when the state sends us to jails, prisons, ice detention facilities, and juvenile detention facilities. Especially when we have disabilities. So I’m rallying for Grace because she is at a high risk of being killed by the state and I want to be in solidarity with my community as we attempt to prevent another unnecessary, racist misogynoirist murder. 

So please join me and many community members as we fight for Grace (and Black women and girls) while we are alive. Fight for our lives, our healing, our justice, our right to exist without being harmed, our wellness.

Sign petitions (1, 2) demanding the Oakland County Court release Grace.

Call Judge Brennan and demand that she release Grace (1, 2).

Email the Birmingham Public Schools Board of Education (1).

File a complaint against Judge Mary Ellen Brennan (1, 2).

Contact MI Liberation to learn how to support Grace and her family after the state releases her.

#AbolishPrisons #AbolishPolice #AbolishICE #AbolishTheSchoolToPrisonPipeline #KidsNeedCareNotCages #StopKillingUs #BlackYouthMatter #BlackGirlsMatter #BlackWomenMatter #BlackDisabledPeopleMatter #BlackLivesMatter

[fuckyeahmarxismleninism]

New York City: Queer Liberation March for Black Lives and Against Police Brutality

Sunday, June 28 - 1:00 p.m.

Foley Square, lower Manhattan

Hosted by Reclaim Pride Coalition

On Sunday, June 28th, at 1pm, the Reclaim Pride Coalition will be in the streets of Manhattan for our second annual Queer Liberation March — the Queer Liberation March for Black Lives and Against Police Brutality. Marchers will gather at 12:45pm at Foley Square on Centre St and step off at 1pm sharp. Marchers are asked to wear face masks to protect against COVID-19 and to maintain safe distancing. Reclaim Pride will provide masks, hand sanitizer and water to those who need them. And Reclaim Pride will livestream the March online at @queermarch on FB and Twitter/Periscope and via Youtube live on reclaimpridenyc.org for those who can’t attend in person. This March, like all current protest Marches, does not have a City/NYPD permit. Horrified by the police murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Layleen Polanco, Rayshard Brooks and untold numbers of others, mourning the endless  violent deaths of Black trans women and men like Dominique “Rem’mie” Fells and Riah Milton, and inspired by the historic, Black-led protest movement that has taken to the streets here in NYC and across the world, Reclaim Pride supports demands for immediate defunding, dismantling, disarming and reimagining of police forces. We join with abolitionists such as Mariambe Kaba and others in several cities in demanding a fifty percent reduction in the NYPD budget with a fifty percent reduction in the police force. Those funds must be dedicated to services including housing, healthcare, education and reparative and restorative justice for Black and Brown communities. We must prioritize reparations for those who’ve been oppressed and murdered for hundreds of years. While all Black people are at constant risk of police brutality and murder, we as queer and trans activists recognize that Black Trans, Gender Non-Conforming, and Non Binary people, especially Black Trans Women, are faced with the intersection of vicious state and societal racism, transphobia, misogyny, and classism. This must stop now. For our complete statement of purpose, go here: https://reclaimpridenyc.org/ The March will be wheelchair accessible, and the livestream will have accommodations for deaf and hearing impaired viewers.  For other questions about accessibility, contact access@reclaimpridenyc.org.

[politijohn]

Dana Martin, 31, a Black transgender woman, was fatally shot in Montgomery, Alabama. Daroneshia Duncan-Boyd, an Alabama-based trans advocate, said “she was a person that was loved by many.”

Jazzaline Ware, 34, a Black transgender woman, was found dead in her Memphis apartment. Her death is being investigated as a homicide, according to The Advocate.  “Our community in Memphis is mourning the death of Jazzaline Ware, a Black trans woman and beloved friend,” said the Transgender Law Center in a press release.

Ashanti Carmon, 27, a Black transgender woman, was fatally shot in Prince George’s County, Maryland. “Until I leave this Earth, I’m going to continue on loving her in my heart, body, and soul,” said Philip Williams, Carmon’s fiancé. “She did not deserve to leave this Earth so early, especially in the way that she went out.

Claire Legato, 21, a Black transgender woman, was fatally shot in Cleveland. Friends and family took to social media to mourn Legato’s death, remembering her as someone who was “full of life.”

Muhlaysia Booker, 23, a Black transgender woman, was fatally shot in Dallas. Friends, family and advocates across the country took to social media to mourn Booker, sharing their shock and disbelief. “Such a beautiful spirit taken too soon,” wrote one person. “She lived her life and loved all of who she was.”

Michelle ‘Tamika’ Washington, 40, a Black transgender woman, was fatally shot in Philadelphia. Washington, who was also known by the name Tameka, is remembered by friends and loved ones as a beloved sister and “gay mother.”

Paris Cameron, 20, a Black transgender woman, was among three people killed in a horrific anti-LGBTQ shooting in a home in Detroit, according to local reports. Alunte Davis, 21, and Timothy Blancher, 20, two gay men, were found dead at the scene and Cameron was taken to the hospital, where she died from her injuries.

Chynal Lindsey, 26, a Black transgender woman, was found dead in White Rock Lake, Dallas, with signs of “homicidal violence,” according to police. Friends, family and community members took to social media to share their shock at her death, describing her as “smiling” and “a person I had never seen mad.”

Chanel Scurlock, 23, a Black transgender woman, was found fatally shot in Lumberton, North Carolina. “RIP baby,” wrote a friend on Facebook. “You [lived] your life as you wanted. I’m proud of you for being unapologetically correct about your feelings and expectations of YOU.”

Zoe Spears, 23, a Black transgender woman, was found with signs of trauma in Fairmount Heights, Maryland, and later pronounced dead, according to local reports. “She was my daughter – very bright and very full of life,” transgender advocate Ruby Corado, the founder and executive director of Casa Ruby, told HRC. “Casa Ruby was her home. Right now, we just want her and her friends and the people who knew her to know that she’s loved.”

Brooklyn Lindsey, 32, a Black transgender woman, was found dead in Kansas City, Missouri, according to local news reports. “I love you, Brooklyn Lindsey,” wrote a friend on Twitter. “I shall live on for you. Rest in power, sista.”

Denali Berries Stuckey, 29, a Black transgender woman, was found fatally shot in North Charleston, South Carolina. “I lost my best friend, first cousin,” wrote a family member on Facebook. “We were more than cousin. We were like brother and sisters. I love you so much, Pooh.”

Tracy Single, 22, a Black transgender woman, was killed in Houston. “Rest in power and peace Tracy,” wrote Monica Roberts, Houston-based transgender advocate. “You were taken away from us way too soon.”

Bubba Walker, 55, a Black transgender woman, was killed in Charlotte, North Carolina, in late July. She is remembered by friends and family as “one of those people who was really fun to be around. She was very kind and she loved helping people.”

Kiki Fantroy, 21, a Black transgender woman, was fatally shot in Miami. Fantroy’s mother remembered her as having “a heart of gold” and being “a very loving person.” She also pleaded for justice for her daughter, saying, “My baby, my baby. Please help bring justice to my baby.”

Jordan Cofer, 22, was among the nine victims killed in a mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio. While Cofer was only out to a handful of close friends and used the pronouns he/him/his on his social media profiles, he is remembered by friends as “extremely bright” and “well-liked.” A friend told Splinter News that “Jordan was probably one of the sweetest people you would ever meet, a true saint, but he was also very scared constantly. He tried to give the best to everyone.”

Pebbles LaDime “Dime” Doe, 24, a Black transgender woman, was killed in Allendale County, South Carolina. Doe’s friends and family remembered her as having a “bright personality,” and being someone who “showed love” and who was “the best to be around.”

Bailey Reeves, 17, a Black transgender teen, was fatally shot in Baltimore, Maryland. She is remembered as "a person who lived her life to the fullest.”

Bee Love Slater, 23, was killed in Clewiston, Florida. Slater is remembered by loved ones as someone “with a really, really sweet heart” who “never harmed anyone.”

Jamagio Jamar Berryman, 30, a Black gender non-conforming person, was killed in Kansas City, Kansas. Local activists and community members joined family and friends at a vigil and took to social media to mourn Berryman’s loss.

Itali Marlowe, 29, a Black transgender woman was found shot in Houston. She was transported to a nearby hospital where she was pronounced dead, as reported by Monica Roberts of TransGriot. “You deserved to live a full and robust life surrounded by people who embraced and celebrated your real self,” wrote Sue Kerr, an LGBTQ columnist.

Brianna “BB” Hill, 30, was fatally shot in Kansas City. Kansas City Police Capt. Tim Hernandez told local press that the alleged shooter remained at the scene until they arrived. She was a beloved member of her community, a fan of the Kansas City football team and loved spreading joy by sharing funny videos on her Facebook page.

Johana 'Joa’ Medina, 25, died at a hospital in El Paso, Texas just hours after being released from ICE custody. She suffered severe health complications that went untreated while she was in detention, according to Diversidad Sin Fronteras. According to OJ Pitaya, an advocate with the group, Medina dreamed of coming to the U.S. to become certified as a nurse, since she was unable to practice as a transgender woman in her home country.

Layleen Polanco, 27, was found dead in a cell at Riker’s Island. Polanco was described by those who knew her as “a sweet, amazing […] and generous human being.”

[unda-dittaboot]

More Than A Number: why violence against black trans women is barely in the media

 In the past two years violence among the black trans community has increasingly been brought into the light of the media. When I use the term “increasingly”, I use that term very lightly as this small amount of media coverage has only slightly grown compared to the nonexistent media coverage of the black trans community in the past, especially coverage on black trans women. The real question I have, and I’m sure many people have, is why it took until there was a vast amount of death and violence in the trans community, specifically against black trans women, for the media to represent this community. Even now there is barely any news about black trans women other than to report their deaths and even that is very insufficient. Even with coverage the media tends to only portray these women as numbers. Reporting them as statistics that happen to be increasing. They turn into a hashtag. Into a trend until eventually these women are grouped into a narrative and then forgotten or looked over as an unfortunate event. These women are more than a number and to solely just view them as a statistic is extremely dangerous as it feeds into the erasure of black trans women. These women are people. They belong to families. They are daughters, mothers and partners. They deserve the coverage of a normal human being because that is what they are.

Representation for black trans women in the public is barely even visible in the eyes of the media. Something as important as safety for this community and something that should be seen as a human right is barely even given to them in the media. The fact that some of these women are even being reported in the news and media is partially due to the Black Lives Matter movement going on currently. Not because the world thought it was right but because the black community has stood up and said that it is time for them to be represented correctly. Society as a whole has started to be held accountable for ignoring black voices. This raises the question of why violence against black trans women is not being reported in main forums of media? Especially largely utilized media forms like the national news we watch on television or in the papers. This also reinforces the fact that the Black Lives Matter movement is so essential for not only the representation of the black community but for black trans women who are already viewed as less than a person. The only real form of media, I have personally seen, that has slightly represented black trans women is on social media. I see it through threads on twitter or insta story posts but shouldn’t a large pattern of death in an entire community be seen as news that should be reported on a national level or on forums of media that are supposed to inform the public daily. Even then the coverage of black trans women should go beyond reporting their death rate. They should show these women living, accomplishing, and thriving. Correct and equal representation is such an important action that should be taken into consideration when it comes to the lives of a large community. Because the media has only represented these women as a statistic, I want everyone reading this to know the names of the black trans women who have recently passed so you are able to hear part of their story and so that they are seen as more than just a number.

Dana Martin. She was 31 years old. According to the Human Rights Campaign and an Alabama-based trans advocate named Daroneshia Duncan-Boyd, Dana was “a person loved by many”

Ashanti Carmon. She was 27 years old. She was engaged to Phillip Williams who said that “She did not deserve to leave this Earth so early, especially in the way that she went out.”

Claire Legato. She was 21 years old. She was remembered by friends and family as someone who was “full of life.”

Muhlaysia Booker. She was 23 years old. She was remembered as “such a beautiful spirit taken took soon” and as a woman who “lived her life and loved all of who she was.”

Michelle “Tamika” Washington. She was 40 years old. She is remembered by loved ones as a “beloved sister and mother.”

Paris Cameron. She was 20 years old. She was a beloved friend.

Titi Gulley. She was 31 years old. She was loved by her family.

Chanel Scurlock. She was 23 years old. She was remembered by a friend as “living her life as she wanted” and being “unapologetically correct about her feelings and expectations of herself.”

Zoe Spears. She was 23 years old. According to Ruby Corado, a transgender advocate and founder of Casa Ruby, Zoe was “very bright and very full of life.”

Brooklyn Lindsey. She was 32 years old. She is mourned and missed by her friends and family.

Denali Berries Stuckey. She was 29 years old. She is remembered by her family. “I lost my best friend” wrote her cousin.

Tracy Single. She was 22 years old. She is remembered by Monica Roberts, a Houston-based transgender advocate, who says that Tracy was “taken away from us way too soon.”

Bubba Walker. She was 55 years old. She is remembered by family and friends as “one of those people who was really fun to be around. She was very kind, and she loved helping people.”

Kiki Fantroy. She was 21 years old. She is remembered by her mother as having “a heart of gold” and for being “a very loving person”

Pebbles LaDime “Dime” Doe. She was 24 years old. She is remembered by her family and friends as having a “bright personality” and someone who “showed love.”

Bailey Reeves. She was 17 years old. She is remembered as “a person who lived her life to the fullest.”

Bee Love Slater. She was 23 years old. She is remembered by her loved ones as someone “with a really, really sweetheart” who “never harmed anyone”

Itali Marlowe. She was 29 years old. She is remembered by Sue Kerr, an LGBTQ+ columnist, as a person who “deserved to live a full and robust life.”

Brianna “BB” Hill. She was 30 years old. She is remembered as a “beloved member of her community” and a person who “loved spreading joy by sharing funny videos on her Facebook page.”

Yahira Nesby. She was 33 years old. She is remembered by her family and friends as “a good spirit.”

Layleen Polanco. She was 27 years old. She is remembered as “a sweet, amazing [..] and generous human being.”

Monika Diamond. She was 34 years old. She was highly involved in the Charlotte LGBTQ and nightlife community.

Nina Pop. She was 28 years old. She was “deeply loved by her family, friends, and community.”

Dominique “Rem’mie” Fells. She was 27 years old. She is remembered by a friend as a “unique and beautiful soul.”

Riah Milton. She was 25 years old. She is remembered as for her “resilience and optimism as a person facing a trasphobic, mysoginistic, and racist society.”

Brayla Stone. She was 17 years old. She is remembered by Tori Cooper, HRC director of community engagement for the Transgender Justice Initiative as “a child just beginning to live her life.”

Merci Mack. She was 22 years old. She was remembered by her loved ones as a “beautiful friend.”

Shaki Peters. She was 32 years old. She was beloved by her family.

Bree Black. She was 27 years old. Not much information has been released but protesters are fighting for her justice.

Dior H Ova. Age unknown. She is remembered as a “beautiful soul full of life and love.”

Queasha D Hardy. She was 22 years old. She is remembered as “extremely loved by her community” and as “truly one of a kind.”

Aja Raquell Rhone-Spears. She was 32 years old. She was beloved by her family and remembered as a “vibrant personality.”

Too long have these stories been misreported or even unreported. A change must be made to not only the media system but the justice system. Say their names, tell their stories, and most importantly view these women as more than just a number.

[afroditemademedoit]

Just heard the news about Layleen. You didn't deserve ANY of this, justice will be made

[revolutionarykoolaid]

i’m noticing that a lot of my recent justice related posts, like about layleen polanco and marshae jones don’t end up in the tumblr searchable tags...😒

wtf @staff

[imran16829]

Transgender Woman Found Dead: Layleen Polanco Wiki, Bio, Age, Family, Fast Facts You Need to Know

Transgender Woman Found Dead: Layleen Polanco Wiki, Bio, Age, Family, Fast Facts You Need to Know

Kayleen Polanco Wiki – Kayleen Polanco Bio

Layleen Polanco had been arrested on April 16th for allegedly assaulting a cab driver in Harlem and having a controlled substance.

Thread on the death of Layleen Polanco, a trans woman of color who died in Rikers Island, where she was being held on $500. @THECITYNY reported that she was found dead in solitary confinement. https://t.co/rI1aFEftpa

—…

[sharley20ahsgov-blog]

BLOG POST #2 MEDIA ASSESSMENT OF ISSUE

MEDIA ASSESSMENT OF ISSUE

1.      Please find three articles that pertain to your civic action issue; one article should be from a liberal source, one should reflect conservative media bias, and one should be objective—from an impartial source. *Please refer to the news-spectrum chart given in class as a guide to finding articles.

2.      SACAP each article and provide a link or URL to each article analyzed.SACAPS—what is the subject of the article? Who is the author? What is the context? Who is the intended audience? What is the bias and perspective of the author? What is the significance of the article? Do you agree with it? Why or why not?

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/19/us/politics/inmates-released-criminal-justice-overhaul.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FSolitary%20Confinement&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=collection  

Inmates Freed as Justice Dept. Tries to Clear Hurdles of New Law - New York Times 

S - This document describes all the actions and opinions of lawmakers regarding new prison laws and decisions regarding the release of prisoners

A - written by Katie Benner, a writer for the New York Times. 

C - It was written July 19, 2019. This was written after in response to the Justice Department’s implementation of the sweeping bipartisan criminal justice overhaul that President Trump signed into law late last year.

A - It is pretty neutral, however it may be targeted slightly to liberal readers. 

P - Reflects a pretty objective point of view. Explains both the criticism the government faced for some of these decisions and also describes the reasoning and next steps the government has for these decisions

S - Explains how some people are worried that the department would drag out the implication of these new laws and the other side to that was the response from one lawmaker that the department had in fact met deadlines and is making new implications. For example, pregnant inmates cannot be shackled and juveniles cannot be placed into solitary confinement.  

https://abcnews.go.com/US/family-demands-answers-wake-transgender-inmates-death-rikers/story?id=63621456 

Family 'demands answers' in wake of transgender inmate Layleen Polanco's death in New York City - ABC News 

S  - This article aims to bring awareness to the death of a transgender inmate being held in solitary confinement in a correctional facility in New York City

A  - Written by Karma Allen from ABC News. 

C - Published on June 11, 2019. Shortly after Layleen Polanco was found dead in her cell. 

A - This article does not have a specific target audience it just states the facts of the case and the concerns the family shared

P - This article reflects a slightly subjective view that is very critical of the prison as to how they could let this happen. 

S - This article contains statements from the family of Layleen expressing their anger at why the prison staff would leave her in solitary confinement un-monitored despite the fact that she had acute medical issues. 

https://www.foxnews.com/us/federal-prisoner-solitary-confinement-dead 

Federal prisoner who spent 35 years in solitary confinement dies - Fox News 

S - This article gives a brief description of the convictions of prisoner Thomas Silverstein and his 35 years in solitary confinement 

A - Written by Ann W. Schmidt, a writer for Fox News

C - This was written May 24, not long after Silverstein died during a heart surgery 

A - Targeted at conservative readers

P - This article is objective, it only describes the life of Silverstein and his convictions in brief detail. 

S - Describes how he was held in solitary confinement for 35 years after he killed two inmates as well as a prison guard. He is believed to have served the longest time in solitary confinement of any American inmate. 

3.      What are the similarities and differences between these three accounts of your issue?

They are all similar in that they are not extremely opinionated. All of them do a pretty good job of stating the facts of the case or what happened. However some of the articles do express slightly more bias than others 

4.      Finally, which source do identify with most and why?

I think I identify most with the second source because it seems as though the prison is withholding key information from the family of the victim, which they should have a right to know. It also appears that there was not just cause for placing the inmate in solitary confinement. 

[96thdayofrage]

On January 5, four new members of the New York City Council arrived at Rikers for an unannounced tour. Council members Alexa Avilés, Sandy Nurse, Tiffany Cabán, and Shahana Hanif visited five of the island’s eight jails, including the isolation units that should already have been shuttered.

There, they talked with a man who had been in isolation since July and allowed to shower once a week. They spoke with another man who had been sentenced to 30 days for throwing water at an officer, and a third who had waited two weeks for treatment for a broken shoulder. All spent 23 to 24 hours alone in a cell each day.

Jail officials refer to the practice as punitive segregation. Critics—including those who have experienced isolation—call it solitary confinement, or torture. Both staff and incarcerated people also refer to it as “the box.”

A city law, passed in June 2021, should have ended punitive segregation by November. But the practice has only continued, and newly minted Mayor Eric Adams has vowed to keep it going in an attempt to curb the jails’ exploding violence. “Enjoy the reprieve now!” the retired police officer said at a mid-December press conference, a few weeks before being sworn in.

Adams’s announcement came after staff absences on the island-jail had skyrocketed. The next week, the Covid positivity rate jumped to 21 percent from 1 percent less than two weeks earlier. By early January, it had increased to 37 percent (higher than the city rate of 33.5 percent). At the same time, violence—by both staff and incarcerated people—continues to plague the jails.

His announcement was praised by the Correction Officers Benevolent Association, the union representing the 7,575 officers (and the additional 400 to be hired within the next year) and with whom he had shared a lobbying firm.

It drew sharp criticisms from advocates, formerly incarcerated people, and family members of former Rikers inmates, including Melania Brown, whose sister Layleen Polanco died in segregation at Rikers in 2019. “If you want to continue to use solitary confinement, it means you are okay with people dying and people being tortured. While you and others are at home with your families during the holidays, there are families burying their loved ones,” Brown said.

It also drew fire from 29 of the city council’s 51 members, who drafted an open letter to Adams urging him to reverse his position and noting that the United Nations and numerous human rights organizations have classified solitary as a form of torture. During the council’s previous session, 35 members had sponsored legislation that would have taken the city’s rule even further—guaranteeing 14 hours out of cell each day with access to programs and socialization. Then-Speaker Corey Johnson did not bring the bill to a vote before the end of the 2021 term.

While Adams had previously called Rikers a “national embarrassment” and a “stain on our city” and endorsed a plan to replace the island jail with four smaller jails by 2027, his office did not respond to repeated request for comment except to note that he will soon be releasing “a comprehensive plan for Rikers safety.”

But members of the mayor’s transition team on public safety and justice say that they did not recommend reinstating solitary confinement. Sharon White-Harrigan, executive director of the Women’s Community Justice Association, and other transition team members told The Nation that their recommendations had focused on decarceration. White-Harrington is disappointed and discouraged by Adams’s rollbacks, calling them “a step backwards.”

“I WANTED TO GET OUT ANY WAY I COULD”

Candie Hailey spent more than two years in punitive segregation. Unable to afford the $100,000 bail set by a Bronx judge, the 29-year-old entered Rikers in February 2012. Less than two months later, she was charged with assaulting an officer—a charge that she vehemently denies. “Actually, the officer assaulted me,” she told The Nation. She was placed in punitive segregation. She was not sure how long she was supposed to be isolated and soon began losing track of the days. She also accrued disciplinary tickets resulting in more time in the box.

Once, after being refused sanitary napkins while menstruating, she tore apart a jumper to create makeshift pads. She received a ticket and more time in isolation. (In 2016, New York City passed a law requiring public schools, jails, and homeless shelters to provide free menstrual products. Previously, women at Rikers had to ask officers for pads.)

Conditions were so terrible that she attempted suicide on a near-daily basis, usually by attempting to slash her wrists, she said. The first time, she recalled, was when the toilet in her cell broke and staff moved her to a cell where a woman had broken the window and used a shard of glass to slash herself. “They moved me into her cell with broken glass all over the floor,” she recalled. “They said, ‘Just don’t cut yourself.’ I picked up the glass that they left for me and I cut myself.” After that, Hailey cut herself with anything that she could get her hands on—pencils, pens, forks, pieces of a plastic cup she broke for that purpose.

Each time she cut herself, officers wrote her a disciplinary ticket, extending her stay in isolation. “I wanted to get out of there any way I could,” explained Hailey, who converted from Baptist to Catholic while in segregation. “I know suicide is a sin and you go to hell, but I was already in hell and God would have understood that I had to get out of there.”

That’s not unusual. A study by The American Journal of Public Health found that in New York City jails, those who had been in solitary confinement were 6.9 times more likely to commit acts of self-harm.

Hailey spent more than three years in isolation before being acquitted at trial in May 2015.

Even after a person is freed, the years in isolation continue to take their toll. “I was stuck in a cell for three years with no mobility,” she explained. “I had to relearn to walk. I can’t walk far distances. I can’t stand for too long. I had to relearn how to talk.” The Journal of General Internal Medicine found that people in solitary had a 31 percent higher rate of hypertension than those in the general prisoner population (or non-solitary housing).

The Department of Correction said it had no public record of Hailey’s being in its custody during that time, though the Bronx district attorney later filed charges against her for breaking a chair while at Rikers.

But Jennifer Parish, director of criminal justice advocacy at the Urban Justice Center and a member of the Jails Action Coalition, confirmed that Hailey had been confined—and isolated—at Rikers between 2012 and 2015. Parish helped advocate that Hailey be moved from isolation to a mental health unit, even enlisting Dr. Terry Kupers, a national expert on mental illnesses behind bars, to review her file and issue a recommendation to remove her from isolation.

CITY AND STATE LAW PREVENT BRINGING BACK THE BOX

Despite his bravado, Adams and newly appointed DOC Commissioner Louis Molina cannot easily reinstate punitive segregation. Both the city and state have already established time limits on solitary.

The New York City Board of Correction monitors jail conditions and sets rules for jail operations. The mayor appoints six board members; the city council appoints the remaining three. Members serve six-year terms.

In recent years, the board has implemented rules limiting solitary confinement—in 2015, after the jail complex reached a daily population of 567 people in solitary the previous year, it passed a rule limiting punitive segregation to a total of 30 days (later amending it to 60 days for assaults on staff) and excluding 16- and 17-year-olds from isolation altogether. The new rule came too late for Hailey who, by then, had spent more than two years in segregation.

In June 2021, the Board issued a rule replacing punitive segregation with a risk management assessment system, which guarantees that people will be allowed out of their cells at least 10 hours with some form of socialization, during which they cannot be shackled. That rule was to take effect in November 2021.

On November 1, however, citing chronic staff absenteeism, then-Mayor de Blasio signed an emergency executive order putting the new rule on hold. Adams’s office renewed that executive order on January 4. When asked for more detail, the Department of Correction said it would have more information in the coming weeks. As of January 10, the DOC held nine people in punitive segregation.

Once the rule goes into effect, the Department of Correction can apply for a six-month variance, which must be granted by a majority of board members. Overturning a rule is a lengthy process—a majority of board members must vote to propose a new rule, allow the public at least 30 days for written comment, hold a public hearing, and, at another hearing, amend and vote on the rule.

On the state level, in April 2021, then-Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law the HALT Solitary Confinement Act, limiting segregation to no more than 15 days. HALT also prohibits solitary for those under age 21, ages 55 or older, people with disabilities, and those who are pregnant or postpartum. The law, which applies to local jails and state prisons, goes into full effect in March 31, 2022. Kathy Hochul, then lieutenant governor, tweeted her support for it, stating, “Prolonged solitary confinement is wrong, and makes prisons, jails and outside communities less safe.”

Bringing back the box isn’t Adams’s only rollback to jail reforms, however. Three days after taking office, Commissioner Molina fired the head of investigation, Serena Townsend, who has investigated the jail’s backlog of staff use-of-force complaints. He also eased the requirement that officers utilizing paid sick leave be examined by a doctor.

Hailey is horrified by Adams’s pledge to continue solitary. “I believe there will be more suicides and suicide attempts,” she predicted. For those who survive, the effects linger. She continues to be plagued by nightmares and has recurring thoughts of suicide and self-harm.

That’s not unusual. The Journal of the American Medical Association found that people who spent any amount of time in solitary were 78 percent more likely to die by suicide in their first year than formerly incarcerated people who had never been in segregation.

Now, fighting to end solitary gives Hailey purpose. She joined the Jails Action Coalition, a coalition of activists working to improve conditions in the city’s jails. She has testified repeatedly at Board of Correction meetings about the long-term damage inflicted by solitary.

“You go in there with sense. And you come out with nothing,” she reflected.

Melania Brown agrees. “My sister didn’t make it back to me in one piece. She’s in ashes now.”

[jasmineholiday]

“That expertise should not be allowed to just continue to wither,” Shropshire said. “These victories happened because you had an entire generation or more of people who very clearly understand how to win elections, who very clearly understand how to have a conversation with Black voters in a way that doesn’t make them feel like they are being taken for granted.”

For decades this has been the cycle: Big symbolic wins followed by long waits for change within structures that were never designed for Black women to reap the rewards. But Black women have never waited around for anyone to save them. Their voices have always been loud and clear, unwavering in their pursuit of justice. Hamer’s famous declaration — “I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired” — encapsulates much of the emotional toll of working toward liberation. But that fatigue doesn’t stand in the way of Black women like KJ Brooks, who spoke out against a police board in Kansas City, Missouri. It doesn’t stop rapper Megan Thee Stallion, who spoke up for Black women when she talked about her violent assault in The New York Times.

“She marches for everyone else, riots for everyone else, dies for everyone else. She loves everyone else, lives for everyone else,” Megan Thee Stallion said. “But when it comes down to her, there ain’t a motherf***er in sight.”

The state of Black women in America makes it plain: There’s a lot of work to be done.

In the last few years, Black women have been bombarded with doomsday headlines about their own experiences. The numbers are staggering.The numbers are staggering: Black women are three times as likely as white women to die in childbirth. Black women are facing disproportionate rates of unemployment amid the pandemic. Black women are starting businesses faster than any other racial group, but are largely being shut out of access to funding. Fighting against many injustices, Black women have taken so much of the power in their own hands, and are working in and outside of existing power structures to affect change.

Elle Hearns knows all too well about big numbers driving the stories behind her communities. Hearns is the founder of the Marsha P. Johnson Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting the human rights of Black transgender and gender-nonconforming people. The tragic deaths of Black transgender women such as Islan Nettles, Layleen Polanco and Dominique “Rem’mie” Fells have become major news stories, and Hearns has watched the number of transgender homicides tick up every year. In 2020, the Human Rights Campaign counted at least 44 killings of trans women, mostly women of color — the highest number of deaths on record since the group began tracking this data in 2013. This can’t be the beginning and end of the story, Hearns told me.

“To really center trans people, especially the experiences of Black trans people, more needs to happen. When I say more: more equity, more opportunity, more resources,” Hearns said. “There are demands that will still need to continue beyond this presidency and the next one, until we have a world that is really liberated and able to play on its own terms and in new ways that we’ve never seen before.”

So much of the work to protect Black women starts with affirming their livelihoods. It is not enough to track the data around disproportionate health outcomes. “So many of us who’ve been in health care for a while already know the statistics. We know that Black women are disproportionately impacted,” said Tammy Boyd, chief policy chair at the Black Women’s Health Imperative. “But what’s hopeful is that all of a sudden — with COVID and after George Floyd’s death — there’s a new energy and a renewed focus on health equity. We already knew these disparities were there, but now everyone is talking about equity.”

[intransheart]

What is  the Star-Farmer’s Grace Initiative?

Star-Farmer’s Grace Initiative is a Black Trans Women Inc led initiative to support our Texas Trans community by ending the pipeline to pre-trial detention and ultimately mass incarceration. The inspiration to start this initiative was the unnecessary death of Layleen Polanco, who was arrested in April 2019 and held  for non violent offense charges.Polanco was arrested for nonviolent offenses and only had to stay in jail because she could not afford the $500 bail. Although the corrections staff could not authorize solitary confinement for Polanco because of her seizure disorder, they put her into solitary confinement anyway. Although officers knew of her epilepsy and that Polanco had already suffered multiple seizures. Her third seizure happened and the guards laughed at her and  left her unmonitored locked in a cell on the floor. This is not a case of a mistake or a medical problem that slipped through the cracks. This was a thought-out decision to put a person in a situation where the risks of injury and death were obvious and known. We, as community leaders, could not help but think about how she was only in jail at the mercy of this transphobic negligence of the State because she couldn’t afford $500 dollar.    

This kind of negligence is an ongoing problem we have seen for decades. The fund is named after 2 Black trans women. One is inmate activist  Dee Farmer. Dee Farmer  is the Black trans woman who spearheaded  one of the most important trans victories you never heard of. The Farmer v. Brennan case. of 1989, where Farmer sued prison officials after she was beat and gang raped due to their negligence and in ability to keep her safe of a Terre Haute prison. The case changed the legal landscape for prison assault cases and the public dialogue about rape in prison for all gender and gender identities. It lead to the Prison Rape Elimination Act, PREA, being made into law. Although Dee Farmer had done all that work to protect trans women in prison, 30 year later Passion Star found herself in the same exact situation in a Texas prison. With The PREA Act,  Passion was able to sue the Texas Dept of Criminal Justice and won her lawsuit. Do you see a pattern here? These two Black trans women resilience and drive made this Trans led intergenerational  #MeToo moment deserves reverence as our fund’s namesake.  

We are Black, queer, trans, young, elder, and immigrant. The history of jails, prisons, and detention centers  do not take care of our people.We know that black trans women have a disproportionate contact with the criminal justice system  and they have higher levels of abuse in prison and jails. Here is some more information about trans women's experience in jail.

 We want to do whatever we can to keep our community members out of situations like Layleen, Passion and Dee’s. So we are leading a tactical bail out strategy  to free as many Black trans women as possible with non-violence offenses. We know that Black trans women are pillars and caretakers of the Queer community. We know that  without infrastructure to help them do that, its can lead them being vulnerable and isolated to the whims of the State . They can serve no one being locked up in the system.  In addition to bailing out community members,  we also provide support services, fellowship programs, and training opportunities. We do this in order to support their growth and development of their leadership without the shame that may come from being people who have experienced incarceration. With this initiative, we are also conducting research and documenting how bail devastates our communities through statistical reporting, ethical story sourcing and sharing, and archiving.

So if you know any black trans women who have been incarcerated in TX, contact us at www.Blacktranswomen.org

If you would like to donate to our efforts, you can do that here https://blacktranswomen.org/campaigns/star-farmers-grace-fund/