NYC’s Black Queer Community Holds Memorial for O’Shae Sibley
A coalition of activists and LGBTQ organizations have organized a memorial ball for Sibley at the gas station where his killing occurred, to be held tomorrow: Friday, August 4th. At 6pm, community members will congregate at 1935 Coney Island Ave in Brooklyn to dance and vogue together in honor of Sibley and in defiance of the fear and suppression imposed on queer people in public spaces. Organizing groups include Black Trans Liberation, Destination Tomorrow, House Lives Matter, and The NEW Pride Agenda.
Sibley, who was one of 11 siblings, is remembered by his family and friends for his confidence, talent, work ethic, and contagious smile. His 51-year-old neighbor Beckenbaur Hamilton, who is also Black and gay and experienced homophobic violence in his youth, recalled how Sibley resisted his advice to be more careful about expressing his queerness in public.
This past pride month, reports from GLAAD and the Anti-Defamation League showed that there were roughly double the number of recorded instances of anti-LGBTQ harassment and violence than the same period in 2022. Sibley’s death comes just weeks after a trans woman in her 20’s named Fernielle Mary Mora was found dead in her Bronx apartment under suspicious circumstances. Members of Mora’s community and chosen family commemorated their lost friend and demanded the NYPD properly investigate her case at a rally held on July 12.
