I grew up on the outskirts of Jacksonville in the Neptune Beach area. Reading the headlines that say that there have been 4 murders of the transgender community this year out of 15 murders in various cities, it's scary to me. I know it's not much compared to other murders, but Jacksonville being the top hit spot for transgenders makes a mark on me due to my relationship. The transgender community always mourns the loss of another brother or sister and the fact that it happens on the outskirts of my hometown makes me not feel safe to move back home. The fact that the police, the majority of the time, puts the wrong gender on the victim, disrespects the full life that they were living. The fact that the media also doesn't recognize transgender victims is sickening.
All of the homicides in Jacksonville occurred in the traditionally low-income areas. Due to the lack of education in those areas, the LGBTQ+ community has always had problems in those areas. The areas associated with this problem are surrounding the downtown area of Jacksonville. Jacksonville is slowly but surely becoming more and more safe for the LGBTQ+ community. In light of these homicides, it shows that Jacksonville is progressing slower than anticipated. That's a hard hit on the community in North Florida, although there are cities that are worse off than us.
The fact that Jacksonville is the top city for transgender homicides scares my fiance to no end. With all of the violence towards transgenders and Jacksonville being our favorite city, this makes us more aware of our surroundings. Neptune Beach is a traditionally "chill place" to live but that area still holds the traditional beliefs on the LGBTQ community but with the added benefit of it being traditionally an elderly community with a fast-growing young family dynamic.
The media isn't much help in the aspect of exposing the transgender homicides due to the fact that they refuse to gender the victims properly. According to The Human Rights Campaign, it took several days for Celine Walker to be gendered properly due to the police refusing to name her as a transgender woman. We put a lot of respect on the deaths of people, why don't we respect the deaths of people trying to live their fullest lives? Imagine their closest friends and family members being disrespected for their views because they supported the person to live their truth. Other communities go through the same because of the hierarchy of popular beliefs compared to the minor beliefs. That as a whole is disgusting.
Jacksonville, FL is home to many people. The LGBTQ+ community is the minority in Jacksonville and that's okay. The fact that the transgender community has a target on their forehead shows that we aren't as progressed as we originally hoped. This truly shows that we as humans need to open our hearts more and allow for all people to live their truth as morally as they can. Jacksonville being as much my hometown as Neptune Beach, it makes me disgusted to have part of my identity be associated with the city.
