Remembering Righteous TK “Chevy” Hill, Black Transgender Man, community leader and inclusive business owner

Righteous TK “Chevy” Hill, affectionately known to his friends and family as “TK,” “Chevy,” and other nicknames, was a 35-year-old Black transman who used his presence as a community leader to push for LGBTQ+ inclusion. Understanding that many queer people at times feel uncomfortable in traditional Black barber shops, Chevy created Evollusion – an Atlanta-based full-service hair salon dedicated to serving the LGBTQIA+ community specializing in hair, nails, barbering, and makeup.

Tragically, Chevy was shot several times outside his home in East Point, Georgia on February 28th, 2024, and pronounced dead the following day. In an interview with GLAAD, Chevy’s biological mother, Verna Hill Wilcox, alleged that Chevy was killed by his cousin Jaylen Hill; East Point police confirmed to local press there is a warrant out for an arrest, but the suspect remains at large.

Chevy’s death comes after Kitty Monroe, a 43-year-old transgender Latina woman, was killed in Arizona in January of this year, and Nex Benedict, a 16-year-old Choctaw non-binary student in Oklahoma, died in February, a day after being brutally beaten at his school.

Chevy was loved deeply by his family–chosen and otherwise–, community, and friends. One friend, Derek Baugh, spoke to HRC about Chevy’s importance to the Atlanta community, noting that:

The loss of Chevy is devastating to not only the Atlanta trans community and his family but to the world. Chevy was a bright light whose mission it was to help others shine on their own. I met Chevy when I founded my organization Ubuntu that focuses on serving Black transgender men. Chevy was one of the first people to ever support me & the organization. He faithfully attended our group, even on weeks when there were two participants-he always showed up. He was well known for his skill as a barber & for welcoming people of all genders and sexual orientations into his barbershop, Evollusion. He was such a good guy with a big heart and he deserved better than this. I will miss seeing him. I want people to understand that gender based violence affects trans men in a despairing way too. Although he is now a risen ancestor, we must continue to lift his name & others in the struggle against gender based violence."

Derek Baugh, Ubuntu Founder and Chevy's Friend

Chevy’s chosen father, Sybastian XX, further noted in a conversation with HRC that:

"Chevy’s (Righteous Torrence “TK” Hill) memory will be forever etched in my mind, heart and spirit. I met this amazingly caring and head strong human many years ago on his search for affirming resources. His ability to motivate, protect and take care of those he loved was evident from the first time we spoke. Familial support was so paramount to Chevy. So, for his life to be taken this way is very disheartening. Some of the larger conversations we have to have are about mental health in Black communities, how rampant gun violence is in this nation, the heightened violence BIPOC TGNC (transgender and gender nonconforming) masculine people endure and how Black communities of marginalized people face overlapping social and economic determinants that no other communities have to navigate. Society learns to devalue Black and trans people’s lives through the many false narratives that have been created and spread by those who oppose LGBTQ+ equality. So, it is important to remind society that we all are human, we all deserve protection and policies in place to keep us safe. Chevy may not have known his true impact, but his legacy and the way he showed up for his community will continue to inspire and change the lives of people who look like him."

Chevy is the 21st transgender or gender-expansive person killed in Georgia since HRC began tracking fatal violence against the trans community in 2013—making Georgia the state with the fifth highest total of known victims. As with Chevy, 20 of these 21 victims were killed by a firearm. HRC’s own tracking of fatal violence against transgender and gender non-conforming people found that between 2013 and 2023, at least 233 trans and gender non-conforming people have been killed with a gun—approximately seven in ten (69.6%) of all identified fatalities.

Gun violence is a rising issue in Georgia in particular, and for Black Georgians most of all. As reported by Everytown for Gun Safety, the rate of gun deaths in Georgia has increased by 59% over the last decade, compared to a 39% increase nationwide, and gun homicide increased 101% (versus 73% nationwide). Black people accounted for 76% of all gun homicide victims in the state in 2021, with Black people seven times more likely than white people to die of gun homicide.

At the state level, transgender and gender non-conforming people in Georgia are not explicitly protected from discrimination in employment, housing, education and public spaces. Though we have recently seen some political gains that support and affirm transgender people, we have also faced unprecedented and ongoing anti-LGBTQ+ attacks in the states–and in Georgia in particular, where we have seen over 20 anti-LGBTQ+ bills filed in the current state legislative session alone.

We must demand better from our elected officials and reject harmful anti-transgender legislation at the local, state and federal levels, while also considering every possible way to make ending this violence a reality. The intersections of racism, transphobia, sexism, biphobia and homophobia conspire to deprive transgender people of the necessities to live and thrive, so we must all work together to cultivate acceptance, reject hate, and end stigma for everyone in the trans and gender non-conforming community.

Any information that can lead to Jaylen Hill’s arrest can be submitted anonymously to the Crime Stoppers Atlanta tip line at 404-577-TIPS (8477), online at crimestoppersatlanta.org, or by texting CSA and the tip to CRIME (274637). Det. R. Graham is the lead Investigator in this case. His phone number is 404-270-7069.

More resources:

Learn more about the fatal violence cases that HRC is tracking where details are unclear. You may find a list of these cases here.
Watch this PSA campaign elevating stories of trans joy and love.
Join HRC's Count Me In campaign to take action for transgender and non-binary people.
Read these guidelines and this FAQ for journalists to ensure greater accuracy and respect in reporting.

Learn about how transgender and non-binary people are combating transphobia, stigma and anti-trans violence through our Celebrating Changemakers series.