Two mothers cemented their friendship in only a few days.
But Michelle Jordan and Clara Taylor have a bond they’d rather not share – both have lost their transgender adult children to gun violence.
On Sunday, the two mothers, along with family, friends and others from the community, came together for a vigil to remember Keshia Chanel Geter, Felycya Harris and Scottlyn DeVore.
Taylor said she knew she had to reach out and find Geter’s mother as soon as she heard about the July 20 shooting that claimed the life of the 26-year-old. In the process, Taylor gained an “awesome friend” despite the circumstances under which the two mothers met.
During the vigil, the two mothers called for an end to the hate and an end to the violence against the transgender community.
“We can make a difference in this world by loving one another. It’s too much hate in this world,” said Jordan.
She called on people to stop hating those who are different from themselves and to allow transgender people to be able to live their lives on their own terms.
“They should be able to live free without nobody abusing them or terrorizing them or treating them bad because of how they look or who they are. It’s wrong. It is wrong,” Jordan said. ‘
Taylor said that Jordan had summed up how she too felt when Jordan made her comments, but she wanted to say a few words about Harris.
“Felycya was taken from me Oct. 3, 2020. She was my third child to leave before me. So, it’s a lot,” Taylor said. “I’m in the process now of keeping her name alive which we will be keeping Keshia’s name alive and Scottlyn’s.
She vowed to continued to fight against violence toward transgender people.
“This is not right. Nobody has the right to take that away. We’re going to fight. It’s got to stop,” she said.
Harris was the 31st transgender person to be killed that year. Harris was found shot to death in a south Augusta park.
DeVore was killed in 2020 as well. Augusta had two of the nation’s 44 transgender fatalities in 2020, a year that was “the most violent year on record since HRC began tracking these crimes in 2013,” according to the Human Rights’ Campaign, an LGBTQ advocacy group.
A local hairdresser, DeVore, disappeared on March 12, 2020, wearing a white dress and blond wig. DeVore’s home was robbed and a few weeks later, investigators acted on a tip and found DeVore’s remains in Jefferson County.
Love was the theme of Sunday’s vigil which included the reading of a poem about the violent murders of transgender women, a few short talks, the singing of “Amazing Grace” and a candle lighting.
Lonzo Smith, a past president of Augusta Pride, said big changes can come in seemingly small ways as he issued a call to action.
“Change the world you live in. You can make a ripple,” he said.
