A Matter of Trust

A Matter of Trust

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A Houston PRIDE festival-goer waves an LGBTQ Pride flag Saturday, June 23. (Megan Ross/News21)

News21 | August 15, 2018

This article is the result of an 8-month investigation by News21 in conjunction with our reporting partner, ProPublica’s Documenting Hate Project. The story delves into the LGBTQ community’s distrust in law enforcement and the barriers that exist to having an LGBTQ bias crime recorded by law enforcement and later prosecuted. Personal accounts from victims of alleged hate crimes and anti-LGBTQ harassment are featured.

 

Transgender murders frequently left unresolved

Transgender murders frequently left unresolved

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Linda DeJesus remembers the last Thanksgiving she had with her daughter, Taja, who cooked for the entire family a few months before she was killed at her apartment complex in San Francisco. (Renata Cló/ News21)

News21 | August 1, 2018

This article was written with News21 fellows Renata Cló and Emma Keith. Transgender victims’ cases are frequently complicated by the circumstances surrounding their deaths, which makes it difficult to classify their homicides as hate crimes. The victims are often killed by a romantic partner, sex work client or stranger.

 

New Orleans remembers Upstairs Lounge fire

New Orleans remembers Upstairs Lounge fire

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Attendees file out of St. Mark’s United Methodist Church after the UpStair Lounge fire 45th anniversary interfaith memorial service June 24. (Katie Gagliano/News21)

News21 | July 9, 2018

While not a classified hate crime, the Upstairs Lounge Fire was the largest massacre of LGBTQ individuals pre-Pulse. Thirty-two people died in the fire 45 years ago after an arsonist, believed to be a disgruntled patron of the club, set fire to the stairs. A group of 200 New Orleans residents marched recently so people would remember its importance. Marchers reflected on the blatant LGBTQ discrimination that influenced the city’s response to the blaze.