Amid ongoing nationwide protests calling for racial justice in the wake of George Floyd’s killing, two black transgender woman were murdered this week.
The deaths of Riah Milton in Liberty Township, Ohio, and Dominique “Rem’mie” Fells in Philadelphia bring the number of trans people murdered in the U.S. this year to 14 , according to the Human Rights Campaign.
“Black Trans Lives Matter,” said Tori Cooper, HRC’s director of community engagement for the Transgender Justice Initiative, in a statement. “In the same week countless people across the globe stand up for racial injustice, in the same week we honor the 49 victims of the Pulse massacre in Orlando, in the same week a billionaire author spouts transphobic rhetoric to millions — in this same week, we have lost two more Black transgender women to the same fate most of us worry about every day. Say their names. Dominique ‘Rem’mie’ Fells. Dominique ‘Rem’mie’ Fells. Dominique ‘Rem’mie’ Fells. Riah Milton. Riah Milton. Riah Milton. Continue to say the names of every transgender and gender non-conforming person stolen from this Earth. Don’t wait until we are all gone to speak up. This fight belongs to us all.”
More from CBS News: In Southwest Philadelphia, Fells’ body was found just before 7 p.m. Monday on the banks of the Schuylkill River, local station WPVI reported. Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small told the station that the woman had suffered stab wounds and trauma to the head and face, and her body was found with both legs severed. Police have not identified a suspect and they are asking the public for tips. … Investigators in Butler County, Ohio, have made two arrests and are still searching for a third suspect in the death of Milton early Tuesday. Sheriff Richard Jones, in a news conference, said Kaleb Tooson, Tyree Cross, and an unidentified 14-year-old girl lured Milton to an area near a park to rob her and steal her car. At some point, there was a fight and Tooson allegedly fatally shot Milton. Tooson also accidentally shot and injured himself, was treated at a hospital and arrested along with the girl.
