Loop 21 Interviews Janet Mock About Violence Against Black Trans Women

If George W. Bush didn’t “care about black people,” then people generally don’t care about the lives of transgender women of color.

That’s not exactly the way writer and activist Janet Mock put it. She and others believe a rash of murders, as well as uneven media coverage, suggest a gross lack of empathy for gender non-conforming individuals.

Mock, a 29-year-old Hawaii native, was her parents’ firstborn son. She transitioned when she was a teenager and is aware of her privilege of not having her gender identity questioned by society.