HRC Mourns Tiara Richmond, Trans Woman Murdered in Chicago

by HRC Staff

On Wednesday, a vigil was held in South Chicago for Tiara Richmond, a transgender woman of color that was killed on Tuesday.

Post submitted by HRC Communications Assistant Adamma Izuegbunam

On Wednesday, a vigil was held in South Chicago for Tiara Richmond, a transgender woman of color that was killed on Tuesday.

Richmond, also known as Keke Collier, 24, was fatally shot in Englewood on the morning of February 21, according to the Chicago Tribune. Richmond was in a vehicle with a man when the man fired shots. Police and a local report from ABC initially misgendered Richmond as male; this article has since been removed.

In 2012, Tiffany Golden and Paige Clay, both transgender women of color, were also victims of violence on the same street where Tiara lost her life. These cases remain unsolved. Two rallies in the city are planned that will honor Richmond and respond to Trump's recent rollback of federal guidelines enacted by the Obama administration to ensure the protection and dignity of transgender students.

In 2016, advocates tracked at least 22 deaths of transgender people in the U.S. due to fatal violence, the most ever recorded. At least three other transgender people have been killed this year – all women of color.

HRC extends condolences to Richmond’s family, friends, and community.

For more information on addressing anti-transgender violence, visit hrc.org/trans-violence.

Update 07/11/2017: This post was updated to include details of the suspect.