But this week became one of mourning when Philadelphia police found the body of Dominique “Rem’mie” Fells.
Police say she had been stabbed several times and dismembered and thrown in the river. Her limbs were found days later in bags.
“My reaction was honestly, 'Another one?'" said Deja Lynn Alvarez. "We have yet another loss in our community.”
She said Fells was in her 20s and was vibrant, and wanted to thrive in life and be who she was.
But that reality, Alvarez said, can be deadly, especially for transgender women of color, who are often victims of transphobic hate and violence.
“It’s mostly either Black or brown, but mostly Black trans women,” she said. “We need to talk about who’s killing them and why. And until society is ready to have this conversation, this is going to continue to happen.”
Last May, 40-year-old Michelle "Tamika" Washington, a Black transgender woman, was found shot multiple times in Philadelphia’a Franklinville neighborhood.
Last November, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation released "A National Epidemic: Fatal Anti-Transgender Violence in America in 2018," a report detailing the contributing and motivating factors that lead to the violence against transgender people.
The Philadelphia Office of LGBT Affairs issued a statement that read, in part, “As thousands take to the streets to proclaim that Black Lives Matter, it is critical we remember that this includes Black trans lives. Dominique Rem’mie Fells’ life mattered. We are reminded with this, and countless other painful losses — especially within our transgender communities — that there is much left to do until we achieve full equality, respect, and support for us all. The murder of transgender people — especially those of color — is truly an epidemic, and a crisis that we cannot afford to allow to persist any further.”
“It’s time to start investing resources and to start dealing with this hate,” said Alvarez.
Fells' death is being handled by a special investigations homicide unit within the Philadelphia Police Department.
Her family has set up a GoFundMe to help pay for her funeral expenses.
They posted a statement that reads in part, "We can assure all of you that we will not stop until her killers are found and justice is served accordingly."
According to the HRC report, 26 transgender women of color were murdered in the United States in 2018, and at least 22 were murdered last year.