This week highlights Trans Awareness Week (November 16th-20th). Transgender Awareness week usually happens the second week of November, which highlights various events leading up to Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR). TDOR memorializes victims of transphobic violence. This is especially true for black and trans POC that have been murdered this year.

Today, I will be talking about trans and LGBTQ activist CeCe McDonald. She has become one of the emerging leaders over the last five years with her at various conferences and workshops.

Cece McDonald is a black, bisexual trans woman that was born and raised in Chicago. Not only she’s a leader for her family, but also for the LGBTQ community. In the midnight hours of June 5th, 2011, CeCe was walking with a group of friends when a group of white people outside a bar started to say racist and homophobic words to her and her friends. When CeCe approached one of the individuals stating that she would not be tolerated with the hate that’s she’s hearing, the man decided to hit her over the head with the beer bottle. Everyone was involved in the brawl that lead to one of the attackers, Dean Schmitz, stabbed to death.

The police were immediately called and CeCe was the only person that was arrested, while being taken to the hospital to place stitches in her head and then being immediately questioned by investigators. She was taken to the Hennepin County jail and was placed into the men’s cell.

While she was being held in jail for the next several months, the County Attorney’s office charged her for second degree murder. With this announcement, there were hundreds of people and organizations calling for the county and Minneapolis Police Department to drop the charges against her. At the time, there were many instances where they held demonstrations outside the courthouse, police precincts and talked to local media about these issues.

On May 2nd 2012, she accepted a plea agreement, in which she plead guilty to a reduced charge of 2nd degree manslaughter. CeCe was transferred over to the state prison over in St. Cloud for over a year and  a half before her release.

After her release, she has been on various media programs talking about her experience during that night and also her struggles during her time in prison. There’s even been a documentary titled Free CeCe, which highlights her experiences of the whole incident and positive things after her release.

CeCe’s story and the many others is why it’s important to highlight these individuals that are marginalized within the community. We want their stories to be heard and everyone to understand their background plus how they’re moving forward in their lives.