The transgender community in Chicago faces what the American Medical Association has termed an "epidemic of violence," with the city having recorded the highest number of murders of transgender people in the United States since 2020. This trend includes the unsolved 2022 murder of Tatiana Labelle, whose death is one of many leaving families and advocates desperate for answers and justice in a system that seems to be failing them.
According to a recent report by the Chicago Sun-Times, despite the Chicago Police Department's assertion that they are "committed to seeking justice for all homicide victims, including transgender victims," the percentage of unsolved murders in the transgender community remains alarmingly high. The national clearance rate for such cases is just over 50% while police in Chicago cleared only 14%. Families of victims, like Shameika Thomas, sister of Tatiana Labelle, express deep frustration and heartbreak over the lack of progress in the investigations. "I can’t let go without answers," Thomas told the Sun-Times.
Further exacerbating the situation is the reported negligence and misgendering of victims by police, as conveyed by Jerry Nicholas whose daughter, Sherry Nicholas, was found dead under unexplained circumstances in 2021. An officer's questioning of whether Sherry's death was from natural causes, captured on body camera footage obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request and reported by ABC7 Chicago, highlights the perceived dismissal of transgender victims' cases from the onset. The absence of a determined cause of death only adds to the family's distress and suspicion over the handling of the case.
The inadequacy of the response to these crimes is further documented by Brendan Lantz of the Hate Crime Research & Policy Institute at Florida State University. The team's efforts to compile a comprehensive database of transgender homicides reveal that Chicago is a city with one of the highest numbers of such crimes. "The clearance rates in our data are far below the national average for non-transgender homicide rates, and the clearance rates in Chicago are much lower than what we are seeing for trans homicides nationally as well," Lantz said to ABC7 Chicago. Activists like Zahara Bassett have voiced the pain and frustration felt by the community, "I know a few people who have been murdered, and no one knows what happened still to this day," Bassett shared with the Sun-Times.
Among the various organizations striving to address the intersecting challenges of discrimination and violence that transgender individuals face, Life is Work run by Bassett, provides housing assistance and workforce development in hopes of ensuring safety for trans people of color. As the violence persists, the broader community, such as the Chicago Therapy Collective, continues honoring the lives and legacies of activists like Elise Malary, who tirelessly fought against discrimination. Malary's colleagues at the collective maintain her memory and commitment to trans rights, part of an ongoing struggle for dignity and safe existence.
