Rallies Set Tuesday to Address Violence Against Black Trans Women

#BlackLivesMatter organizers will stand up for black transgender women and point out the wave of violence against this population with rallies around the country Tuesday.

Eighteen transgender people have been reported murdered this year, most of them black trans women, plus one victim whose gender identity is in dispute. That exceeds the number of reported murders of trans people in all of 2014, and does not include those whose deaths were not reported or investigated or those who have been misgendered by law enforcement and media.

"We say the names of Mya Hall, Kandis Capri, Elisha Walker, Shade Shuler, Ashton O'Hara, India Clarke, Amber Monroe. We say the names of the black trans women whose lives have been cut short and demand that our cisgender family acknowledge that all black lives matter," said Elle Hearns, Black Lives Matter strategic partner and GetEqual central regional coordinator, in a press release. "The time is now to join #BlackLivesMatter in action as we celebrate our sisters who are living -- the very sisters who have fought next to us to sustain this declaration that has been heard around the world."

The rallies for the observance, dubbed TransLiberation Tuesday, are scheduled as follows, all times local, with one event Wednesday:

Nashville
Tuesday, 1 p.m., Church and 12th streets

Columbus, Ohio
Tuesday, 5 p.m., City Hall

Chicago
Tuesday, 5:30 p.m., 1255 S. Halsted

Dayton, Ohio
Tuesday, 6 p.m., Dayton Courthouse Square

Washington, D.C.
Tuesday, 6:30 p.m., Franklin Square

Houston
Wednesday, 6 p.m., Hermann Park Conservancy