NCAVP mourns the death of Dominique Jackson, a 30-year-old Black trans woman and beloved organizer who was found dead in Jackson, MS. Unfortunately, police and earlier news reports deadnamed and misgendered Dominique, which news outlet Pgh Lesbian asserts delayed Dominique’s family’s awareness of her death. On January 27, Dominique’s aunt posted on Facebook that Dominique had not been seen since January 24, despite authorities having discovered her body on January 25, making for 2 days the family was out of the loop of Dominique’s death.
According to Facebook, Dominique was the mother of the Hause of Redd, and founder of Ladi Redd Inc. Her aunt writes that “no one will ever be able to replace you or take away the memories [we shared],” calling Dominique “my niece, my baby, a joyful pain in my butt.” Additionally, folks on social media have described Dominique as an organizer and co-founder of BreakOut, an LGBTQ youth organization in Louisiana.
Police remain unclear on a motive or suspect, stating that due to the nature of the crime they “don’t have any evidence or information that would suggest it would have been a hate crime.”
NCAVP stands in solidarity with Black trans women, and we know that it is always hard to read these reports of violence against our communities. We know this can be even more painful when there continues to be an unchecked epidemic of homicides of Black trans women, as police violence is escalating against Black and brown people, and our nation continues to be grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic that highlights long standing healthcare disparities for Black and brown communities. If you need support in these difficult times, you can always reach out to your local NCAVP member. If you or someone you know is experiencing violence, you can reach our free bilingual national hotline at 212-714-1141 or report online for support.
NCAVP works to prevent, respond to, and end all forms of violence against and within lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ) and HIV-affected communities. NCAVP is a national coalition of local member programs and affiliate organizations who create systemic and social change. NCAVP is a program of the New York City Anti-Violence Project.