A 30-year-old African-American
transgender woman was murdered in Birmingham, Alabama late last
month, making 2016 the deadliest year on record for the transgender
community.
Jazz Alford's body was found at the
Kings Inn on September 23. Police and media initially misgendered
Alford.
“Her death was a huge hit for the
LGBT community,” her sister Toya Milan, who is also transgender,
told
AL.com. “There was another transgender shot multiple times
somewhere else recently. People think transgenders are monsters,
when really we just want to be accepted.”
Milan said that her sister's murder was
a “hard pill to swallow” and that she didn't know anyone who
would want to hurt her.
“She was such a loving person,” she
said.
Alford is the 22nd
transgender American to be murdered this year, surpassing last year's
official total of 21. Many of the victims have been
African-American.