Finding Jayla
Blaque/OUT Magazine has always taken on the grim but incredibly important task of reporting on the murders of Trans people. Reporting on these stories and recording the names and faces of the lost became even more Important when Federal and State agencies began wiping the public databases that held these statistics and national organizations stopped reporting them. Anytime you hear one of these stories from a reputable and respectful source they will say “at least.” At least 4, at least 10 because so often Trans people are Identified by only their biological sex by law enforcement who are then misgendered by media and identified publicly by only their legal name which Is often a “deadname” and not reflective of their gender Identity or person they were In life. These correct Identifications matter to record our history, respect people’s Identity In death and accurately depict who a person was. In addition, it often changes the victimology and thus the offender profile. It matters.
In mid-July Blaque/OUT was made aware of the murder of a 19yr old from Florida named Jayla McGee. We were told Jayla was shot execution style near Belle Glade In Palm Beach County. As much as we want to tell everyone’s story, the journey only starts when we receive that type of Information. There are hours and hours of research tracking down family or friends for confirmations, contacting law enforcement, funeral homes and coroners to verify Information. It’s not the kind of story you can get wrong. When we learned about Jayla, what we learned was all we learned. We searched the Internet, local news channels, police blotters, filed FOIL reports with the City of Belle Glade and Palm Beach county. There was nothing. No Information or no response. Days later Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents ran a piece about her but there was no further news or law enforcement confirmation. We took to social media to touch base with Florida activists, no one had heard anything. We eventually tracked down dark video of a vigil that led us back to some friends that we were able to speak to and located her Mother whose social media we monitored as pictures of her service with a huge crowd dressed In all pink mourned a life lost too soon on on July 25th. What we have learned Is that Jayla, “Baby J” was a trip. She was fun, funny and clearly very, very loved. She was born and raised In Belle Glade where she was affectionately referred to by her nickname, birth and chosen names. She was buried In pink sneakers In front of a sea of pink and Memorial Tshirts with pics of her In full glam. They painted the town pink for Jayla that day. Jayla loved pink.
On this chase for Information the clues will be as small as the correct age and race that you can match up. The listing In a police report or blotter of the person In the correct city, wrong name and gender with an accurate cause of death and you connect the dots. With Jayla McGee there was NOTHING. If you google Palm Beach County and murder there are endless police and news reports. But not a solidarity mention of a 19yr old being murdered In Belle Glade or Palm Beach County on July 5th. Not In her chosen name or birth name. Not as a male or a female. There Is nothing. Last week, LGBTQ National outlets began carrying her story as Blaque/OUT prepared this August Issue. We found Jayla, now the world has too but the story here, besides this beautiful baby lost, ...Is why Is and was her story missing for so very long?
