Why You Need to Know CeCe McDonald
The transgender woman was released from prison this week.
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CeCe McDonald and Transgender Violence - Transgender activist CeCe McDonald was released from a Minnesota prison after serving time for killing her attacker. Her 2012 trial sparked much outrage from LGBT advocates who believed the court’s treatment of her case was unfair. Read why CeCe McDonald’s attack matters and how transgender violence disproportionately affects Blacks. —Kellee Terrell (@kelleent)(Photo: Courtesy of SupportCeCe.wordpress.com)
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Who Is CeCe McDonald? - Chicago-native Chrishaun “CeCe” McDonald is a 23-year old transgender woman who lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Prior to her arrest and conviction, she was a college student studying fashion and design at Minneapolis Community & Technical College. While born male, she began her transition into a woman when she was 14, Buzzfeed.Com writes. (Photo: Courtesy of SupportCeCe.wordpress.com)
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Understanding Her Attack - On the night of June 5, 2011, McDonald and her friends (all LGBT people of color) were walking to the store when they passed a bar. Dean Schmitz, a male patron, and two of his friends (all white) yelled racial and transphobic epitaphs and violently attacked them. McDonald reached for a knife out of her purse to defend herself and killed Schmitz.(Photo: Courtesy of SupportCeCe.wordpress.com)
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Her Arrest - Despite McDonald being attacked and having numerous injuries, she was taken into custody by the police. It was not until the next day that her injuries, including a deep cut to her face, were taken care of at a nearby hospital. McDonald was not given bail and was in custody up until her sentencing. (Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images)
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The Sentencing - To avoid a guilty verdict by a jury, which carried a heavier sentence, McDonald plead guilty to lesser charge of second-degree manslaughter and was sentenced to three and a half years in a men’s prison, She only served two-thirds of that sentence and will spend the rest of her sentence on parole, ABC News reported. (Photo: Courtesy of SupportCeCe.wordpress.com)
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Free CeCe! the Documentary - Orange Is the New Black star and transgender advocate Laverne Cox, who also picked McDonald up when she was released, is set to produce Free CeCe!, a documentary about McDonald, her attack and her experiences being in a men’s prison, according to Jezebel.com. (Photo: Rommel Demano/Getty Images)
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This Type of Violence Isn’t Rare - While McDonald survived her attack, in the past year, many other Black trans women have not. Islan Nettles of Harlem, Eyricka Morgan of Newark, Paige Clay of Chicago, Coko Williams of Detroit and Brandy Martell of Oakland are sobering reminders that Black trans folk , especially transgender women, are extremely vulnerable to violence and homicide. (Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images)
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The Statistics - A 2013 study found that trans people of color were 2.9 times more likely to experience violence compared to white non-transgender folks. Also, transgender women accounted for a whopping 53 percent of murders of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and HIV-affected (LGBTQH) community and the Black LGBTQH community accounted for 73 percent of homicides. (Photo: HECTOR MATA/AFP/Getty Images)
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Black Transgender Folks Mistrust the Police - Data from 2011 found that 38 percent of Black transgender Americans reported harassment by police, 14 percent reported physical assault and 6 percent reported sexual assault by them as well. Another 35 percent of Black transgender people said that they had been arrested or held in a cell because of transphobia and 51 percent reported feeling uncomfortable seeking police assistance.(Photo: AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)