Eyricka Morgan, Transgender Woman, Allegedly Murdered In New Jersey
A New Jersey transgender woman died earlier this week after allegedly being attacked by a man living in her boarding house. According to HuffPost Gay Voices.
Eyricka Morgan, 26, reportedly died Sept. 24 at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick. Devonte Scott, 21, was arrested following Morgan's death and charged with murder, unlawful possession of a weapon, and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, according to the Newark Star-Ledger.
Morgan, a former Rutgers University student, was featured in a 2011 article by the university highlighting queer individuals living in Newark, N.J. In the article, she discussed her family's disapproval surrounding her gender identity. “I had to make a decision," she said at the time. "Either I be myself or let others control me. So at 14 or 15, I packed up all my stuff and I left.’’
Transgender women of color experience disproportionate levels of hate violence compared to other members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, facing challenges and struggles that are uniquely framed by the intersecting nature of their marginalized identity framework.
This summer alone, a number of transgender women of color -- including Islan Nettles, Diamond Williams, and Domonique Newman -- were allegedly murdered in disturbingly violent ways.
For more information on the lived reality of violence against transgender women of color in our society, watch this stirring music video by the artist KOKUMO and visit the National Center For Transgender Equality website.
Morgan's murder remains under investigation by the New Brunswick Police Department.
A SIN AND A SHAME! R.I.P Eyricka!
This is a very sad story. Living an LGBT life style, in and of itself, is hard. Stories about people either leaving home too early (at ages that rank "below emancipation"), or people being disowned by families are common. Sadly, drug abuse, death and disease are common a end for beloved members of our society. I wish, no, I pray that society as a whole will finally learn to accept LGBT people as family members; if for no other reason than to keep them safe from hurt, harm and danger. There is nothing safer than a loving home.....occurrences like these take us back to the days when lynching people simply because of the color of their skin was common and no one cared then. Now we say we live in a period of tolerance/acceptance; but do we really. Who is praying for the victim? should we pray for the victim's family? should we pray for the accused and if so, what should we ask God for? Really, What should we ask Him to do? Do we pray that the accused and the Family who disowned her burn in hell? Well I believe in the scriptures; The Bible. It tells be "to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord". This lets us know that, clearly, She is in a better place than we all are. Hatred does not live in heaven. I will be praying for her family and the accused that they, first, receive forgiveness and secondly, that they learn to forgive, tolerate and accept that which is a little different or unknown. I will also pray that God give us an understanding of hatred and through this understanding, we will be able to forgive. Christ, my savior, wept as he enter the city where he was to be crucified as he understood why we sinned, why we hated, why we are the way we are. He did ask God to forgive us because we "knew not what we do".
ReplyDeleteSad? yes; but God can and God will.