Police investigate mysterious murder of Black trans woman on Christmas Eve
Author: John Russell
A Black transgender woman who was shot and killed late last month in Missouri has been identified as 40-year-old Amber Minor.
Police initially misgendered and deadnamed Minor. The Kansas City Star has since updated its reporting after local LGBTQ+ advocates made it known that Minor was a transgender woman.
Never Miss a Beat
Subscribe to our daily newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights.
In a December 29 message on X, Kansas City’s LGBTQ Commission described Minor as “a resilient Black Trans woman who lived a life full of laughter.”
The commission’s chair, Justice Horn, wrote that she was “full of love and life.”
Raytown police have asked that anyone with information about the crime contact the TIPS hotline at 816-474-8477.
Minor is just one of more than 30 transgender, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming people who were killed in the U.S. last year, The Advocate noted. The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has tracked at least 30 transgender and gender non-conforming individuals who died by violence in 2023, while Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents’ list includes the names of 42 victims.
The violent deaths of trans and gender-nonconforming people often go unreported and victims are frequently misgendered and misidentified by police, the HRC notes, so the numbers mentioned above are potentially just a snapshot of the violence inflicted upon the trans community. Transgender people of color are particularly vulnerable: 87% of the victims on he HRC’s list are people of color, while 50% are Black trans women.
Actual Story on LGBTQ Nation
Author: John Russell