Following reports on Sept. 18 of the defacing of a mural painted in support of Black trans lives on 204th Street and Perry Avenue in the Norwood section of the Bronx, reaction from allies and various public officials was swift. Their message? Hate has no place in Norwood.

 

The following day, a rally was organized at the mural location by Assemblywoman Nathalia Fernandez, who was joined by a group of about 30, comprising members of the Black trans community, allies, and local leaders for the purpose of “denouncing hate and the defacing of a mural supporting Black trans lives.”

 

The mural, which displays the words, “Black Trans Lives Matter,” in yellow lettering had been painted about three months ago by Black Trans Media, an organization founded to, “shift and reframe the value and worth of Black trans people through community, media, and education.”

 

On Wednesday, Sept. 16, it was discovered that the mural had been defaced with hate speech and obscenities against the LGBTQ+ community, using red paint. Similar hateful messages, written on the sides of buildings on Hull Avenue and Decatur Avenue, also in Norwood, were discovered on Friday, Sept. 18.

 

During the rally, attendees took turns to speak and publicly denounce the actions of those who defaced the mural, and who apparently intended to cause hurt. “This is not the community that I know and that I proudly represent,” said Fernandez. “We have always accepted every single person – color, creed, anyone – because that is what community is about.”

 

Asked by Norwood News what steps the assemblywoman planned to take to prevent such hate crimes from happening again in the area, Fernandez said that, in discussions with Bronx Community Board 7 and local trans leaders, there was mention of a task force being formed, though details have yet to be solidified.

 

Also in attendance was Elisa Crespo, education liaison at the Bronx borough president’s office and the first openly transgender woman of color to work for a borough-wide office in the Bronx. Crespo is running for the New York City Council seat in District 15. “As a member of a community that is being attacked by the highest levels of government, I am here to tell you that our oppression and subjugation will no longer be tolerated,” she said.

 

Speaking with Norwood News before the rally, Crespo made clear that her political campaign was not solely based around her identity as a transgender woman. “When I am elected as Councilwoman, I will be bringing a voice to a community that has never been heard,” she said. “But, I’m also here to represent everyone regardless of their background.”

 

Meanwhile, members of Black Trans Media not only attended the event and painted over the hateful messages that covered the mural, they also used the occasion to talk about the effects such hate crimes have on the trans community.

Xeno Olionus, who was the lead artist on the mural when it was originally painted, said its defacing was all the more senseless considering the current situation with the coronavirus pandemic and resulting economic crisis.

 

“I think that the last thing that should be [the vandal’s] priority is, ‘How can I take it a step further and keep knocking people down that are just trying to live?’,” Olionus said. “All we’re trying to do is live. That’s it – simple!” He added that everyone is going through hard times currently, and that tearing other people down is not the answer and doesn’t make anyone’s life any better. He called for more respect and empathy.

 

“Every artist knows that when you do art, there’s a part of you that goes into it,” he said. “For someone to just step over it and not consider the time it takes, the emotion it takes – it’s a lack of consideration and a lack of empathy.”

 

In June, during the initial painting of the mural, Black Trans Media had posted a message on their Instagram account thanking the local community for their support. “Day 1 photos from working on our #blacktranslivesmatter mural in the Bronx was so epic magical and we appreciate everyone coming out and supporting each other in staying safe,” the post read.

 

“We got to interact with tons of folks in the community who came up to us, talked to us, and thanked us for our work. One family got out of their car to take photos with their kids in front of the words black trans lives matter,” the post continued. The group added that locals had also donated money and water to them on the day in question, for which they were very grateful.

 

Other speakers at the rally included Olympia Sudan (she/they), co-director of Black Trans Media, Ischia Bravo, district manager of Community Board 7, and Kenny Agosto, district director to State Sen. Jamaal T. Bailey and the first, openly gay man to serve as a district leader in the Bronx.

 

Agosto spoke about the need for financial support for health services for the LGBTQ+ community. “We have a Montefiore center dedicated to HIV prevention,” said Agosto, his voice appearing to crack at times from the emotion. “We must fund those things!” He also called for the funding of local LGBTQ+ support centers, and support for LGBTQ+ artists. “We must defend our artists because they are defending us!” he said, pointing to the mural. “We’re here because this is intolerable!” he added. “We are sick and tired of being sick and tired!”

 

During Sudan’s remarks, she called for more education and understanding among non-trans people of the issues faced by the trans community and encouraged people to think about policy decisions that affected them.

 

All in attendance appeared to be heavily moved by the event during the delivery of the various remarks, and expressed their support and solidarity with the Black transgender and wider transgender community.

Overall, the anger and sadness that such vitriol towards fellow human beings could be expressed in such a vulgar, hateful and public manner was palpable.

 

A hate crime is an offense that is motivated by bias. A person commits a hate crime when one of a specified set of crimes is committed, targeting a victim because of a perception or belief about their race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, religion, religious practice, age, disability or sexual orientation, or when such an act is committed as a result of that type of perception or belief.

 

Hate crimes can be perpetrated against an individual, a group, or against public or private property. For example, hanging a noose or painting a swastika can be deemed hate crimes.

 

In January 2019, New York City Council passed legislation to create the Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes (OPHC) — the first of its kind for a City in the United States.

 

According to OPHC, hate crime complaints, which can be the result of civilian reporting or officer activity, went up by 19 percent from 2018 to 2019, in part because of an increase in anonymous hate-crime vandalism, without an identifiable suspect to arrest.

 

Of all bias categories, anti-Jewish bias comprised the largest proportion of both complaints (58 percent) and arrests (35 percent), Of these complaints, 76 percent were for incidences of swastika vandalism.

 

Anti-LGTBQ bias comprised the second-highest proportion of hate crime complaints (16 percent) and arrests (27 percent). White individuals made up the highest proportion of arrests across all bias categories, with men aged between 26 and 35 years of age comprising the majority.

 

Brooklyn led the boroughs with the highest number of hate crime complaints and arrests, followed by Manhattan.

 

The NYPD confirmed to Norwood News that the Norwood incidents are indeed classified as hate crimes, and that they are being investigated by their Hate Crimes Task Force division. To date, there have been no reports on who the culprit or culprits are.

 

Destination Tomorrow is the only LGBT center in the Bronx with the unique experience of working hand in hand with members of the Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming community (TGNC) community. The center provides housing, social support, and employment related services. Its goal is to act as a resource not only to TGNC community members, but also to those in the borough who are looking to work with or understand this community.

 

Anyone wishing to obtain more information about the agency can do so by accessing their website at www.destinationtomorrow.org.

 

To report a hate crime in progress or any emergency, call 911. Non-emergencies should be reported to the local precinct.

 

For general questions about the work that OPHC is doing, New Yorkers can email OPHC@cityhall.nyc.gov or visit nyc.gov/stophate.

 

Since we first published this story, the NYPD has released the latest hate crime statistics for the City as a whole.

 

Hate Crimes Statistics Summary from January 1, 2020 – September 27, 2020

These statistics represent the time period between January 1st – September 27^th for the respective years of 2019 and 2020.

	2020	2019	+/-	%
Asian	3	3	0	0%
Black	31	28	+3	+11%
Disability	0	1	-1	-100%
Ethnic	0	5	-5	-100%
Gender	6	11	-5	-45%
Hispanic	0	5	-5	-100%
Muslim	2	11	-9	-82%
Other	20	11	+9	+82%
Other Corona	23	0	+23	***.*
Religion	11	7	+4	+57%
Semitic	81	163	-82	-50%
Sexual Orientation	19	39	-20	-51%
White	10	24	-14	-58%
TOTAL	206	308	-102	-33%

 

According to the NYPD, the Hate Crime Task Force statistics contained above are subject to change as “Active Possible Bias” cases can be reclassified to “Non Bias” and removed from counted statistics upon investigation. As a result of a “Possible” to “Non Bias” classification, statistical percentages may fluctuate beyond assumed percentage calculations from week to week reporting periods.