3 transgender women have been killed in Milwaukee in the last 9 months

At least three transgender women — Brazil Johnson, Regina Allen and now Cashay Henderson — have been killed in Milwaukee in the last nine months, and the murders are leading to worries about violence against people in the LGBTQ+ community.

Just days after the murder of Cashay Henderson, members of the trans community called for change during a vigil for the 33-year-old woman.

“We want to keep our trans women protected. We want to keep them safe,” Aaleh Hughes said during the vigil.

Milwaukee Police said Henderson’s body was found inside her burning home on the city’s north side on Feb. 26. The Chicago native had been shot and her home set on fire.The motive for her murder is unknown, but police have a “person of interest” in custody, a 33-year-old Neenah man.

A GoFundMe organized by Henderson’s cousin for funeral expenses has raised over $5,000 as of Thursday afternoon.

“She was a bubbly spirit with a down to earth, tell it like it is personality,” the GoFundMe page said. “Cashay was a transgender female and was as beautiful as can be, inside and out. Cashay didn’t deserve what happened to her.”

Elle Halo, a board member with Diverse and Reslient — a Milwaukee LGBTQ+ rights group — said Henderson was a member of Sisters Helping Each Other Battle Adversity, or SHEBA, a support group for Black transgender women.

“Cashay Henderson was a beautiful young lady who was an active SHEBA member over the last five years,” Halo said at a vigil held for Henderson in Milwaukee on Wednesday.

They last spoke just a few weeks ago.

“She inspired our ladies and other people in her life to be their full selves,” Halo said. “Although her story was cut short, she was already a survivor. She was one of us. She looked and breathed and walked and hoped, like us.”

Her death has once again sparked a discussion about the alarming trend being seen in Milwaukee.

“This death was a wake-up call for myself and my trans sisters, and the whole LGBTQ community was impacted,” Hughes said.

Brazil Johnson, a 28-year-old transgender woman, was found dead on the morning of June 15. Her killer has still not been found.

Regina Allen, a 35-year-old Black transgender woman, was shot and killed in Milwaukee on Aug. 29, 2022, according to the Human Rights Campaign. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that an arrest has been made in her case.

Hughes said living in Milwaukee has become “extremely dangerous” for herself and other transgender people.

“It has come dangerous where us trans women don’t even want to come out of the house because we’re in fear that we will be next,” Hughes said.

Hughes said she wants the entire community to come together to ensure other LGBTQ+ people feel safe.

“I don’t want to be on a poster that’s near R.I.P.,” she said.

A concerning trend

A 2021 study by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law found that transgender people are over four-times more likely to be the victims of violent crime than cisgender people.

“The results underscore the urgent need for effective policies and interventions that consider high rates of victimization experienced by transgender people,” study author Ilan H. Meyer said.

According to the Human Rights Campaign, there have been six transgender people murdered in the United States so far this year. In 2021, a record 57 transgender or gender-nonconforming people were fatally shot in the U.S.

The data tracker said many of these deaths often go unreported or misreported.

“In previous years, the majority of these people were Black and Latinx transgender women,” the webpage said.

Justin Roby, the director of prevention, care and empowerment services at Diverse and Resilient, heard about Henderson’s death Sunday.

“The degree of sadness that I have had to deal with over the last few days has been tumultuous, to say the least,” Roby said.

“We have very much a deep urge to shout from the mountaintops that we need this to stop, on top of ensuring that even in death, that people in the LGBT community are given dignity,” Roby said.

Roby said he did not know Henderson personally, but said she was a positive role model for others in the community.

Much like other crimes, Roby said, crimes against LGBTQ+ people have risen since the COVID-19 pandemic. Roby called on the public to be more accepting of transgender people, as they’ve long been dealing with feeling “disenfranchised” and “ostracized.”

Roby said he even wants the LGBTQ+ community to be more accepting of trans people.

“It is our burden to make each space that we’re in safer for trans women and trans men and nonbinary people,” Roby said.

The 2021 UCLA study found that “experiences of victimization are related to low well-being, including suicide thoughts and attempts,” Meyer said.

Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson also said he believes the Milwaukee community has more work to do, calling for an end to the violence.

“We must take every reasonable step to protect transgender people and the entire LGBTQ+ community in Milwaukee, in Wisconsin, throughout the nation and indeed throughout the world,” Johnson said at the vigil.

Do you need help?

Diverse and Resilient offers a hotline for those suffering in the LGBTQ+ community. That number is: 414-856-LGBT (5428).

The Trans Lifeline can also be reached at 1-877-565-8860.