FAIRMOUNT HEIGHTS, Md. — Anger and grief stretched from Dupont Circle to Prince George's County late Friday, as hundreds assembled to remember vulnerable members of the transgender community viciously killed this year.
The region’s LGBT community is suffering from a spike in 2019 hate crimes – the violence coming into focus after two friends were killed blocks apart in Fairmount Heights.
Unidentified attackers killed both Ashanti Carmon and Zoe Spears along Eastern Avenue this year. Carmon lost her life in March, Spears, earlier this month.
Neighbors and law enforcement gathered where the two transgender women were slain, as well as in the heart of Dupont. Those attending simply mourned, as both crimes remain unsolved.
"We are going to do whatever it takes, to bring this madness to a screeching halt,” said Maryland state Sen. Joanne C. Benson (D-Prince George's). "It is a crime of hate. It is a crime of hate. And we can't get around that. And so it's unacceptable. And we in this community are not going to tolerate it."
Both Carmon and Spears were close – Spears told confidants she suspected who killed her friend three months ago. Both women turned to prostitution to augment small incomes, risking their lives in the dangerous corridor of Eastern Avenue.
Vigil for murdered trans women
"I know they were vibrant, young people who wanted to survive, and wanted to be something in life,” said transgender advocate Earline Budd in an interview. “But all of that has been cut down."
Lawmakers at both vigils issued a clarion call for government to step up. Ideas focused on programs to help transgender people experiencing hard times, such as Carmon and Spears. The programs would help transgender people in need find stable jobs, avoid prostitution, and find refuges from hate.
