And with those words, the Philadelphia Police erased the identity of Stacey Blahnik Lee and triggered once again the misgendering of a transwoman in the media.
Seems like just a little over a few weeks ago, I was writing about the same thing being done to Victoria Carmen White in New Jersey by the local law enforcement people there.
Now we have the same thing happening to Stacey Blahnik Lee.
By the way, the only reason I found out her actual last name in the first place was because the po-po's used her old male name in their initial press release.about her murder. This isn't the first time the Philadelphia PD has had issues with African-American transwomen.
Back in 2002, two of Philadelphia's finest failed to get Nizah Morris safely home after giving her a courtesy ride from a downtown Philly bar during the Christmas holidays. DA records have had to be subpoenaed and her family is still awaiting a satisfactory explanation from Philly PD for what actually happened that night
There was the March 21, 2007 Erica Keel case in which she was run over repeatedly by an auto driven by Roland Bottoms but was questionably ruled a hit and run accident.
Now we have the Philly po-po's initiating the erasure of the identity of a popular and well known African descended transwoman So the question I have to ask the Philadelphia Police Department is what is your problem with transwomen, especially transwomen of color?
Whatever it is and whatever the level of transphobia is in your department, it needs to be dealt with. There is a sizable population of transpeople in the Philadelphia metro area who have historic roots in the area and aren't going anywhere. They are also part of the citizenry you are sworn to protect and serve.
The taxes we pay also help maintain the department and pay your salaries as well, and the last thing we want from our public servants is disrespect and erasure to go with it..
