MILWAUKEE — The trial of Clayton Hubbird begins on Monday. He's the man accused of killing Mya Allen, a transgender woman, in Milwaukee in 2022. Hubbird is charged with 1st degree reckless homicide.
"It was a shock for everyone," said Diverse and Resilient Trans Outreach Coordinator Vogue about Allen's death.
Generally, Vogue remembers 2022 as a year filled with hate. According to the Human Rights Campaign, that year was a record-breaking year for the number of anti-trans bills introduced across the county.
"I think that's a huge part of basically people not having a care for our lives," Vogue said.
The FBI reported at 32% increase in hate crimes against the LGBTQ community that year.
"You just pray that nothing happens to one of your sisters," Vogue shared.
But she did lose two friends that year: Allen and Brazil Johnson. Both were black, transgender women and icons in Milwaukee's LGBTQ community.
Johnson was killed in June of 2022. No one has been arrested in that case, but just last month the Milwaukee Police Department and the FBI announced a person of interest. That person hasn't been identified yet, but can be seen in the photos below.
In August of 2022, Allen was killed.
"Mya was a pioneer in the community since I was young," Vogue said. "She was one of the first people that I saw and identified as 'wow I see myself in her.'"
Vogue said that the fact this case is coming to a trial is significant.
"To see that her killer is being brought to justice, I think, will send a message to everyone that we do matter. That we are seen. That life, her life, was important and you had no right to take it," Vogue shared.
She said she's hoping for more understanding and less hatred towards the trans community in Milwaukee.
"Don't seek to understand in death, but seek to understand while we're living and maybe that will help some of the girls that are out here struggling," Vogue said.
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