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Black trans women have two options seemingly if they are attacked in America: Die, or have the full weight of the law come down on you for defending yourself.
A black transgender Minneapolis woman pleaded guilty to second degree manslaughter in the stabbing death of a local man, but her supporters maintain she was the actual victim in the case.
As the Minneapolis Star-Tribune is reporting, 23-year-old CeCe McDonald is expected to be sentenced June 4 to three years and five months in prison for the death of Dean Schmitz, a white man.
McDonald was reportedly walking past a local bar on June 5, 2011 when an altercation between her and Schmitz and other patrons erupted on the sidewalk outside. According to various reports, McDonald -- who was reportedly transitioning at the time -- said she pulled out a pair of scissors in an attempt to defend herself after the group hurled a glass at her face, and taunted her and her friends with both anti-gay and racist epithets, including "faggots," "niggers" and "chicks with d*cks."
Schmitz, who allegedly had a swastika tattoo and was between the ages of 41 and 47 according to varied reports, died at the scene from a stab wound to his chest.
Minneapolis City Council Member Cam Gordon is among those to defend McDonald, saying she was targeted for her race and gender. "It appears that CeCe was the victim of a hate crime that involved many people but she was the only person held by the police," Gordon wrote on his blog. "Here is another example transgender women of color being targeted for hate- and bias-related violence. It is unfortunate that in this case, as in so many, the hate crime itself appears to have been ignored."
Black trans women have two options seemingly if they are attacked in America: Die, or have the full weight of the law come down on you for defending yourself.