Starr Brown, black transgender woman who ‘always had uplifting words,’ killed in Memphis, Tennessee

Starr is at least the second Black transgender woman killed in 2024 and the seventh transgender or gender-expansive person killed with a weapon, with firearms accounting for two-thirds of all deaths identified so far in 2024. She is the seventh transgender or gender-expanding Tennessean killed since HRC began tracking deadly violence in 2013, and the sixth Tennessean killed with a firearm. According to news reports, this wasn’t even the first time Starr had been shot; In October 2023, she was shot while waiting for an Uber during an attempted robbery. Tennessee itself is experiencing a gun violence crisis: As Everytown for Gun Safety reports, gun-related homicides in the state have increased 110% in the last decade, with Black Tennesseans experiencing the highest rate of gun deaths of any racial/ethnic group.

In an injustice that compounded this tragedy, Starr was misrepresented in some media and police reports, an incident that occurs far too often: In the past 11 years, HRC has committed approximately two-thirds of fatal violence against the transgender and gender-expansive community all known victims were misrepresented by the media and/or law enforcement. Anti-transgender stigma is exacerbated by callous or disrespectful treatment by some in the media, law enforcement and elected offices. In pursuit of greater accuracy and respect, HRC offers guidelines for journalists and others reporting on transgender people. HRC, Media Matters and the Trans Journalists Association also jointly created an FAQ for reporters writing about anti-trans violence.

At the state level, transgender and gender-expansive people in Tennessee are not explicitly protected from discrimination in employment, housing, education, and public spaces. Tennessee also does not list sexual orientation or gender identity as a protected characteristic in its hate crimes law. Although we have seen some recent political successes that support and affirm transgender people, we are also facing unprecedented anti-LGBTQ+ attacks in the states. In June 2023, the Human Rights Campaign declared a national state of emergency for LGBTQ+ Americans after more than 550 anti-LGBTQ+ bills were introduced in state legislatures this year, with over 80 enacted into law – more than any other year. As of this writing, over 400 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced in state legislatures since the start of 2024, with more than 25 bills passed so far.

We must demand more from our elected officials and reject harmful anti-transgender laws at the local, state and federal levels, while considering all possible options to make ending this violence a reality. It is clear that deadly violence disproportionately affects transgender women of color, particularly Black transgender women. The intersections of racism, transphobia, sexism, biphobia and homophobia work together to deprive them of the ability to live and thrive. That’s why we must all work together to promote acceptance, reject hate, and end the stigmatization of everyone in the trans and gender-expansive community.