The video was taken by Zoeann Murphy and it highlights one of D.C.’s cultural centers: Ben’s Chili Bowl. Zoeann received her BFA in photography at SUNY Purchase College and has previously worked on numerous participatory photography projects, such as Unseen America. She has also worked for the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants. Zoeann joined the Corcoran’s New Media Photojournalism program to educate herself in the evolving world of journalism.  Currently, she has been focusing on her local neighborhood, the U Street Corridor, and its changing landscape. You can check out more of her work on her personal website, at zoeannmurphy.com.

Xion Lopez, born Ronny Taylor, is a 20 year-old transgender woman living and working in Washington, D.C. — a city where increasingly trans women appear to be the target of violence. Despite the fact that there is a large and visible gay community in the District, the trans community seems to remain marginalized. Over the summer of 2011, several assaults on transgender women took place in DC, including two murders and at least two other shootings.

During the end of 2011, Xion’s transition was complicated not only by the newness of her gender reassignment hormone therapy, but also by the fact that her living situation was in a state of flux. Xion described her family home in Prince George’s County as a place where she was treated as an unwelcome guest; was often forced to share a bed; and was prohibited from presenting herself as female in the company of others.

As an intern at Transgender Health Empowerment here in the District, Xion was able to come into her own and find her voice as a young activist and leader in the community. The following vignette represents an important step in Xion’s journey as she begins a new chapter, moving into the Wanda Alston House, a group home for other youth like her — a “safe space” where she can be Xion all the time.

–

All words, photos and video for this story contributed by Dakota Fine.

–

Whitelock street, where the festival was held, was once a prosperous business district in the city, but became an open-air drug market, later to be demolished.  Now, the community has been bouncing back by making tremendous efforts to go green. Residents of Reservoir Hill have been planting community gardens on vacant lots in addition to trees throughout the neighborhood. There is even a farm on Whitelock street that sells fresh produce on Fridays and Saturdays.  The Reservoir Hill festival began at 11a.m. on Saturday, September 10th, lasting into the evening, with a lineup of local Baltimore artists: Marc Evans, Brooks Long, AXIOM, Jpope and Funk Friday, the Bangladesh Project, Femi the Dri Fish, Thelonius Coltrane, Queen Earth, and Seeweed.  The event was sponsored by B-more Dog, which provided free shots and free spay/neuter vouchers.

It was really interesting to see both sides represented. Although, I won’t say that it was really both sides because what one side wanted was a job—not specifically a job building THIS pipeline. Many of the people we talked to just wanted work. Those protesting the pipeline were empathetic to that, but firm about the fact that this was not a sustainable way to create jobs.

produced by: Crystal VanderWeit and Becky Harlan

While the spike in violence is shocking, it is not clear yet why transgender people are being attacked. However, the violence does serve as evidence of a marginalized community whose individuals are clear targets for hate.

A couple of weeks ago, I went out with NPR reporter Beenish Ahmed and Earline Budd, a prominent transgender activist in the DC community, to the scene of one of the murders. The story aired on NPR Morning edition last Thursday under the headline “Violent Attacks On Transgender People Raise Alarm.”

NPR ran a couple of my photos which you can see by clicking the link above, and I’m running a few more here for people to check out. Perhaps by creating greater visibility for this community in DC, I can help in some small way to promote awareness and greater tolerance.

all photos by Dakota Fine