'It's so alarming right now': 3 black trans women killed in Dallas since October

Transcript

Carmarion D. Anderson says she gets nervous leaving her house after three black transgender women were found murdered in Dallas in less than a year. 

The Dallas Police Department has asked the FBI to assist in investigating after 26-year-old Chynal Lindsey's body was pulled from White Rock Lake in Dallas on June 1 with "obvious signs of homicidal violence."

Lindsey's death came two weeks after Muhlaysia Booker, 26, was shot to death in Valley Glen Drive, south of White Rock Lake.

Brittany White, 29, was fatally shot in the southeast of the city in October last year.

Anderson, the executive director of the non-profit advocacy organization Blacktrans Women Inc., met Booker in April after she was filmed being beaten by several men in broad daylight.

Here is part of Anderson's conversation with As It Happens host Carol Off. 

Carmarion, how concerned are you for the safety of black trans women in Dallas after these murders?

Very concerned. We're just all alarmed. I'm more concerned about the visibility — that we're empowered to show up, that we probably can't because we'll be targeted. 

We're very concerned about our lives being in danger. It's so alarming right now, especially with these two deaths that just recently just showed up out of nowhere. 

What do you know about [Chynal Lindsey]?

I know that she's a transplant here from the Chicago area. 

She was a trans woman of colour, which alarms our black trans community here in the [Dallas/Fort Worth] area because it seems that all of the deaths that are happening of the transgender [women] being murdered happen to be black.

The Dallas police chief said there's no evidence to suggest that there is a serial killer at work. Do you have reason to believe that trans women in Dallas are being targeted?

I can't say if it's a serial killer, but I can say there is certainly tragedy going on right now with these deaths, who happen to just be black trans women.

Have you changed your habits, have you changed your movements, your exposure to the public?

It's very difficult to do so when I lead an organization, a national organization, that focuses on black trans women, which is called Black Transwomen Inc.

But I do have the anxiety that when I do leave my house, what am I going to come across? And will I be in a position to defend myself if something does come that challenges me? 

So, yeah, I think that's on all our minds. You know, yes, I may be a leader — but I'm also a black trans woman that's living in Dallas, and my safety is also No. 1.

There's a very disturbing video of Muhlaysia Booker ... before she died, of her being attacked. Can you tell us about that?

It was just any typical day. She was riding with some friends. There happened to be a small fender-bender collision. And, you know, once they identified that she was trans-identified, then came the teasing and the homophobic slurs that escalated into a massive fight.

It certainly was a hate crime if you look at the video. 

That's what we experience and it was very challenging to even watch and to still talk about it.

And after that attack, Muhlaysia Booker did not stay silent. She wanted to speak out. Why do you think she found that necessary?

Initially, Muhlaysia did not want to speak out. Muhlaysia was 22 years old. Muhlaysia just wanted to move on with her life, because I'm sure there was some fear and some anxiety.

But then Muhlaysia said something very incredible: "No, I'm going to do this because this is going to help my community and also future individuals that may be in the same situation."

So she had the courageousness to open up and actually to speak. I think she also wanted to use that moment to identify that whatever happened, I'm still empowered to show up and still live out my truth.

You got to know her, didn't you, at that rally [in Dallas after the attack] because you were the emcee? What did what did you make of her ... decision to raise her voice?

I was very proud of her. I wanted to let her know that I'm here. That's the reason why I showed up. 

I've been doing this for well over 15 years and so I'm very well respected and so [what] I shared with her is that I want her to pull from my energy and I am certainly going to be here to take all of her hurt and her pain and her scares away, because I know that this is something that she wants to do to bring change to our community here in Dallas.

I was there to hug her, look her in her eyes. We cried together. She was a beautiful young lady. And she articulates very well but, you know, again, she just needed that level of support. And I'm just glad that I was actually there at that moment to offer that support to her.

Other women who are friends of Muhlaysia Booker have spoken out, haven't they, about what they think the police are failing to do. There's one woman, Mieko Hicks [who said on Facebook Live] she doesn't think it's a serial killer, but she does think that ... the police are contributing to this because she says, "They've made it so desperately easy to kill us by not investigating the deaths of black trans women." Do you think that there's a lack of investigation, lack of concern on the part of police about these deaths?

What I personally know is our Dallas Police Department is doing all that they can to give us answers.

From the outside look in, do I feel they could be doing more? Absolutely, from a community member.

From an institutional level, I feel that they have to cross all their Ts and dot their Is in order to be able to present something that's going to be valid and that will hold up in a court of law.

What can you do to educate and to bring the attention of what's happening to these women to people in Dallas?

For my community, I will always support safety first. You know, question the decisions that we make. If that means that just for us to go walk to the park, let's make a conscious decision and be very aware that we have to be aware of our surroundings.

From our allies ... be our eyes and ears as well. Be the extension to also assist us and protect us. You know, affirm who we are so we can feel comfortable knowing that we have allyship, because they are the ones that have the privilege versus us who are black and ... trans here in Dallas.

Putting those two together, we'll become a greater army and we can perhaps minimize some of the deaths that we're seeing here around Dallas, and allow it to be a blueprint that we can share around the world.

Written by Sheena Goodyear with files from Reuters. Produced by Morgan Passi. Q&A has been edited for length and clarity.