Jacksonville Florida is a bustling and diverse city. Despite this, there seems to be a lack of organizations supporting and working with the transgender community. Paige Parks, a transgender woman is trying to change that. She is trying to bring awareness and funding to the minority transgender population in Jacksonville which is offered little support. A lot of transgender folks are homeless (with few homeless shelters servicing transgender individuals) and often having to resort to street work to get money for basic necessities. It is difficult for transgender folks to obtain jobs and even harder to get medical service. There’s a real need in this seemingly invisible and ostracized portion of the community. That ostracism was felt hardest on Feb. 4th, when 36-year-old Celine Walker became the fourth trans woman in America killed for their identity as female. Our community was served with a continued attack by police, local news outlets, who misgendered Celine Walker even in death.
Now T.A.P. Jacksonville’s Transgender Awareness Project’¹ is calling for a change in the way transgender people are identified by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
“I’m here to be the voice for her and all of the rest of the transgender women who don’t have a voice that has been murdered,” transgender activist Paige Mahogany Parks said.
Walker’s supporters gathered at a vigil Saturday, at Friendship Fountain to remember her life. Walker’s friends said she was outstanding.
“She lived her life as a woman. She lived her life in peace,” Parks said. “From what I gathered, she was a decent person.”
Walker was killed Feb. 4 at the Extended Stay America on Skinner Lake Drive in Jacksonville Florida’s south side.² Police have not said anything about their investigation since her body was found, but friends believe her death may have been a hate crime because Walker was transgender.
“You have a lot of guys who use the excuse that transgender women are running around here, fooling guys. Honey, this is not 1918. This is not Jerry Springer. Nobody’s being fooled anymore,” Parks said. “You know what you’re getting yourself into.”
Friends met at the Friendship Fountain to honor Walker and to bring awareness to what they call misgendering of transgender people.
Another member of Transgender Awareness Project and employee of the extended stay Celine was murdered, London Gore, in a statement to Jax news 4³ said, “Me being trans myself, I have a lot to worry about. So I called them and got the response I wasn’t looking for, so I had to resign from my job because I didn’t feel safe going into an environment that did not protect me. We’re human. We love like you love, hurt like you hurt, bleed like you bleed, the same color. We just want to be treated equally and to know our lives matter, to me anybody’s lives matter.”
Jacksonville’s News 4 coverage of vigil demonstration.
Celine Walker is the fourth Trans Woman Murdered in 2018. Say Their Names, former M
iss Trans America Christa Leigh, then Viccky Gutierrez, and Tonya Harvey just days before Celine Walker.
- T.A.P Transgender Awareness Project Facebook page.
- Celine Walker is the fourth Trans woman killed so far in 2018: a former Miss Trans America Christa Leigh, then Viccky Gutierrez, and Tonya Harvey just days before Celine Walker Say Their Names.
- Some coverage courtesy of Jax News 4, video embedded in the article.
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