Local LGBTQ rights groups will hold a vigil Monday night, two days after a trans woman was pronounced dead from a gunshot wound early Saturday morning in North Charleston.
The North Charleston Police Department and the Alliance for Full Acceptance confirmed the death of Denali Berries Stuckey over the weekend. In a release on Saturday afternoon, the Charleston County Coroner’s office, identifying Stuckey by her birth name, said North Charleston police were investigating an incident on Carner Avenue as a homicide. A full report has not yet been released by NCPD to the City Paper.
The vigil will be held at 8 p.m. tonight (Mon. July 22) at the new Equality Hub at 1801 Reynolds Ave. in North Charleston.
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“I am heartbroken and outraged by the news of yet another murder of one of our transgender community members. Denali is the third known black trans woman to have been murdered in South Carolina since 2018,” said Chase Glenn, executive director of the Alliance for Full Acceptance, in a statement on Sunday. “While the greater community may be either unaware or disinterested in this news, it is important to understand the epidemic of violence against trans women of color and the crisis point at which we are now and have been for years.”
At least 12 transgender women have died as a result of violence so far this year, according to the Human Rights Campaign.
Monday’s vigil is being organized by the Alliance for Full Acceptance, Charleston Pride, We Are Family, Charleston Area Transgender Support, Charleston Black Pride, SC Equality, and other local groups.
“In this moment, we are focused on our responsibility to honor and memorialize Denali as she chose to identify herself, while raising much-needed awareness among the general public about the violence perpetrated against the transgender community— and more specifically trans women of color,” Glenn said. “We refuse to become numb. We will continue to say the names of these women and remember them how they would have wanted to be remembered.”
A statement on Sunday from the North Charleston Police Department said police learned “that Stuckey identifies as a transgender female” during their investigation. Deputy Chief Scott Deckard said, in the statement, that “The North Charleston Police Department recognizes, respects, and protects the rights of all citizens regardless of race, religion, gender, or beliefs, and will continue working to ensure all citizens are treated fairly and courteously.”
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