Beyond Ed Buck (2022) - full transcript

[ Man groaning ]

Good morning, everyone.

So I just saw from
my feed yesterday,

I was at the apartment,

of Ed Buck, in West Hollywood.

There is something a lot bigger

than what we're focusing
on that's going on.

Not to take away from the
death of the two individuals,

but there's...

There's something
that's going on.

And there's a whole
language about crystal meth



and what they're doing
when it comes to sex,

and it can go --
it goes into HIV,

it goes into self-love,
it goes to the love

that we're not
getting as children

and us trying to figure
out what is going on as adults.

It's so layered, it's -- I'm,
like, getting emotional now.

But we have to, like,
really open up our eyes,

and figure out what is going on

to our brothers and sisters
out there, 'cause it's bad.

And me personally,
Jayce Baron Sadler,

will do all that I can to
make sure that this is like,

not something that
goes on forever.

All right, be blessed, bye.

♪ This little light of mine ♪



♪ I'm gonna let it shine ♪

♪ This little light of mine ♪

♪ I'm gonna let it shine ♪

♪ Let it shine,
let it shine, let it shine ♪

WOMAN: All right.

How much longer are you
guys gonna turn your head,

and act like you
don't see anything?

Till another dead Black
man is in here.

This is ridic--
This has to stop.

No more to Gemmel Moores.
No more Timothy Deans.

I don't care what they did,
what their past was,

what they agreed to.

They didn't agree to get killed.
They didn't agree to that!

He's a predator!
He is preying on Black men.

These too young men
belonged to somebody.

They're somebody's children,
they're somebody's brother,

they're somebody's uncle.

And the comments of, "Oh,
they should've just said no."

Any one of us could have had
this card in life.

[ Chanting ] Arrest Ed Buck!
Arrest Ed Buck!

Arrest Ed Buck!
Arrest Ed Buck!

Arrest Ed Buck!
Arrest Ed Buck!

Gemmel Moore!
Gemmel Moore!

Gemmel Moore!
Gemmel Moore!

Gemmel Moore!
Gemmel Moore!

Mysterious deaths sparking
protests in Los Angeles.

Two gay Black men
died at his home.

REPORTER: Two men have died
in that apartment

in such a short amount of time.

REPORTER #2: Both overdosed
on methamphetamine.

REPORTER #3:
Found dead in the apartment

of the political activist
and Democratic donor.

REPORTER #4: Who has donated
tens of thousands of dollars

to high-profile
Democratic candidates.

REPORTER #5:
Former governor Jerry Brown

and Hillary Clinton.

Whose name now is more
synonymous with the deaths

of two men in his
West Hollywood apartment.

A violent, dangerous
sexual predator.

The Democratic Party donor
Ed Buck.

Democratic donor Ed Buck.

-Ed Buck.
-Ed Buck.

-Ed Buck.
-Edward Buck.

MAJOR: Who is Ed Buck?

I will not claim to
know Ed Buck personally,

because I don't
know him personally.

But what he represents
and who he is,

I don't want to
give him any power.

What we need is...

...for us to be able to identify
how we end up on doorsteps

like men like Ed Buck.

[ The Beach Boys'
"Good Vibrations" plays ]

♪ I'm pickin' up
good vibrations ♪

♪ She's giving me
the excitations

♪ I'm pickin' up
good vibrations ♪

♪ She's giving me
the excitations ♪

♪ Good, good, good,
good vibrations ♪

♪ She's giving me
the excitations ♪

♪ Close my eyes,
she's somehow closer now ♪

♪ Softly smile,
I know she must be kind ♪

When I first met Ed,
he was very talkative.

He had intelligence.

I knew, or learned
shortly thereafter,

he had run for governor
in the state of Arizona.

I knew that he was a Republican,
and I'm not.

I'm a Democrat.

But the fact that
he'd run for office

and almost took
Governor Mecham of Arizona out

made him interesting to me.

But he was out as a gay man,

and if you move
into West Hollywood,

you're either gay or presumed
to be possibly gay.

And so I think by
the time Ed got here,

he intended this destination
to explore his sexuality.

He was very involved with
the Democratic Party,

the Democratic clubs,
the Stonewall Democratic Club.

But his role
in West Hollywood government

has been primarily
as a agitator.

You know, he'd come to
council meetings on occasion

and scream and yell
about development issues.

That's what I recall.

Now I'm wondering whether
some of those appearances

before council were under
the influence of meth,

because that sort of
anger and agitation

and the sweaty brow,
the clenched fist,

the teeth being gritted.

I mean, now I recognize all
of that to be the symptoms

of somebody under the
influence of amphetamine.

Folks, a disturbing
story out of California,

where pressure is now growing
on some Democratic politicians

to return money from a
wealthy white party donor,

following the death of a young
Black gay man at his home.

26 year old Gemmel Moore
died on July 27th,

at the West Hollywood apartment

of prominent California donor
Ed Buck.

Authorities rule that Moore died

of an accidental
crystal meth overdose.

But police are now
taking a closer look

at what happened at Buck's
residence the night Moore died.

And Moore's mother is openly
questioning whether Buck

may have had something to
do with her son's death.

Gemmel was scared.
He was scared of this man.

He came and he laid
in my arms and he cried,

and he was scared.

He was scared that this man was
going to hurt him.

And he went
to the police station,

and they told him to go away.

You know? They told --
They did not believe him.

He called me in tears,

crying that he didn't
want to be this person.

He wrote a diary
saying that he did not,

and he was scared
he was going to die.

This man, he went
out there searching

for other men that
were struggling

and on the streets
and had no money, you know?

And I mean, men who had never
experienced drugs before.

There's a lot of things that
I would go out there and do

for $600 and then another $600.

Oh, you know, "I'll do it again.

I'll give you $1,200
if you do it again."

This is what Ed Buck
said to him,

It's easy money.

But it's not.

It's not, and we are
allowing people in power

to pay for our lives

and to take them away
with their money.

Ed Buck is a predator,

that masqueraded around

just to hunt down the bodies
of Black men.

Someone that was
hiding in plain sight,

masquerading under
the Democratic Party,

masquerading around,
wanting to help people.

Ed Buck was someone,

and still in many ways
is likely someone,

who still has money, access,
resources, and power.

And even if he doesn't
necessarily have it,

there's a transference of
his power to someone else.

And so there wasn't
a doubt in my mind

that America wasn't going
to hold him accountable

because we have watched
America time and time again

never hold their
own accountable

for the things that they have
done to other groups of people

who come from
communities that deal with

the additional
marginalizations of race

and queerness and any
other intersections,

such as being poor.

REPORTER: The indictment alleges
Buck solicited men

through a recruiter

or gay dating sites
like Adam4Adam

to his apartment to
"party and play" --

aka get high and have sex
and sometimes get paid.

DURAN: Seeking out men
in that category

and providing them
food, shelter, and drugs

are the signs of somebody
with a scheme in mind.

It was only when
Timothy Dean happened,

when there was a second death
in Ed Buck's apartment,

where all of a sudden
everybody went, "Whoa, wait!"

The news came on,

and I seen it on the Internet.

And so I text Tim,
and I was like, "Tim..."

And his message went green.

REPORTER:
Investigators in California

looking into the second death
of an African-American man

in the home of Democratic
megadonor Ed Buck.

The man now being identified
as 55-year-old Timothy Dean.

He died of an apparent overdose.

MAJOR:
I miss that laugh.

When he would come
up to you, you know,

he'd tickle your sides or, you
know, give you this big hug,

he'd smile at you.

We used to call him
Too Much Drama.

And he was, you know -- Tim Dean
was just larger than life.

He had this personality that
you knew when he entered a room.

You knew how he loved you
by the way that he treated you.

I never knew that Tim was using

until I started having
my battles with it.

And you know, I talked to
Tim about that situation.

And Tim in turn started
to talk to me about

things to look for, you know,

his situations and things
that have gone on with him.

That was Tim's way.

He was always serving,
always honest, always open.

About a month or so before,
we were at Gym Bar

out here on Santa Monica.

And, you know,
we had a conversation.

We were just like,
"Can you believe

that this
happened to Gemmel Moore,

and you know, there were
no repercussions from it?"

And...

He looked at me, and he said,

"Promise me, don't you ever
take your ass over there."

He's like, "I'm not
trying to go over there

and end up dead."

All these people
calling for his arrest,

a second man dies in the
course of all of this.

Was there ever a point --

I mean,
if I found that you have this

what could be used as
evidence, but now you can't,

how does that make you feel?

It's extremely frustrating,
because we as prosecutors,

if we think someone is guilty,

we want to do our
best to make sure

that they're brought to justice.

But our justice system is
based on testable evidence.

-You know what I mean?
-Yeah.

You can't bring
in a mob, a crowd,

and say to the jury, "Well,
the mob says they're guilty,

so you better convict."

DURAN:
But the sad reality is that

overdosing in West Hollywood,
tragically,

I hate to tell people,
happens every month.

I mean, every month
somebody O.D.s in an apartment

in West Hollywood.

So the fact that
somebody overdosed,

I hate to say it,
is pretty common.

JOHNSON: There's just this
underlying messaging,

like, "Overdosing happens.

People use a lot
of drugs out here,

people overdose,
it's just a thing that happens."

I think, though,
that's very dismissive

of what this
particular case was,

especially because of
the power dynamics at play.

You're talking about,
again, a rich white man,

and a young, poor
Black queer man.

I think that just speaks
volumes about where we are.

And as long as we are Black,

we are always going to
be harmed by a system.

It is that additional
layer, though,

of queerness that then puts
us in even more harm's way.

It is not the person
who does not have.

It is the person
who has everything

and offers you everything with
this particular type of risk,

i.e., the meth.

And the sex.

Those types of offers,

a young, poor Black queer
person has to balance out,

"Do I eat today?
Do I have shelter today?

And do I engage in this
activity that may be dangerous,

but at least I ate, at least
I had money in my pocket.

At least I'm going to
be okay for a few days?"

And that is why we
have to make sure

that we are supportive
of the victim here.

COPELAND: And even
at the community level,

when we have community
interventions,

it's about kind of
individuals coming together,

to kind of try and change
bigger structures and systems.

But that doesn't feel equitable,

that doesn't speak
to the reasons

why we see
disproportionate impacts,

and it doesn't change
how all of these things

are interconnected.

So, we have to go
to the root of it.

DURAN: West Hollywood has
been a city since 1984.

However, the place
known as West Hollywood,

has been here for
a hundred years.

And it's always been
a place for outliers,

non-conforming people.

[ Mid-tempo jazz music plays ]

All the speakeasies
and bathtub gin,

and all the underground
nightclubs got formed up here

on the Sunset Strip.

And then during the 1940s,
the Rat Pack took over,

Frank Sinatra
and Sammy Davis Jr.,

and Don Rickles.

In the 1950s,
communists and socialists

and other social undesirables
began to flock here

to be away from the patrol

of the Los Angeles
Police Department.

In the '60s,
it was the hippies

and the Mamas and the Papas
and the flower children,

and the anti-Vietnam War
protestors.

And in the '70s, the gays
finally arrived in the '70s.

REPORTER: This is the
face of Santa Monica Boulevard,

that is familiar
to most outsiders.

But the street also
has a private side,

perceived by outsiders
only if it dawns on them

that almost all of the
people they see here are men.

For this area of West Hollywood
has become a gay ghetto,

a sociological phenomenon
of these times.

And the main street of the
homosexual community here

is Santa Monica Boulevard.

And it's always been a place
where you could be anything,

do anything, Bohemia.

But the reality is that
the city of West Hollywood

is not as diverse as other
parts of Los Angeles County.

Looking at West Hollywood's
racial makeup today,

it's about 4% Black,
about 4% Asian,

about 12% Latino,

and everything else, 80%,
is white.

JOSSELL: It's funny that you
asked me this

because the most overt racism
that I have ever experienced

has been at the hands
of West Hollywood.

The most.

I'm talking about
in-your-face, N-word-type racism

has been in West Hollywood.

People who have run their
fingers through my hair

without my consent.

There's been finger waving,

"I got an inner Black woman
in me," without my consent.

And at nighttime,

I'm not going to
even discredit it

because West Hollywood
gets really fun at night,

but I also know what
comes with that.

Like, I've seen white
drag queens in blackface.

So West Hollywood,
it doesn't feel safe to me.

It feels safe in the daytime,
so to speak.

[ Horn honking ]

DURAN: Santa Monica Boulevard
grew into its own identity,

mostly around LGBT culture.

You know, the
"Historic Boys Town" District.

And the reason it's
called Boys Town --

I know that's offensive
to some people today --

is that West Hollywood is
40% LGBT, but of that 40%,

90% identify as gay
or bisexual men.

So it is a city of, you know,
LGBT,

but predominantly
white gay and bisexual men.

JOSSELL: I have a lot of friends
that are gay Black men.

So I've also witnessed extreme
fetishism, like, extreme.

Might as well place them
on a proverbial auction box,

if you know what I mean.

You go into a bar and a
lot of people ignore you,

you know,
until they start drinking.

And then after they done had
about three or four drinks,

they approach you and go,

"Oh, you're pretty
cute for a Black guy."

Bitch! Is that supposed to
make me feel attractive?

I knew I was a fine piece
of chocolate ass

before I left out the house!

Tell me something original,
you know?

And it's, "Oh, I want
some of that Black cock."

Ugh! Cock?

Ain't no chickens running
around nowhere on me.

[ Laughs ]

And it's just like this
is supposed to turn me on

and make me feel special,
you know, being fetishized.

White men just grab.

[ Chuckling ] Just grab.

I have been, like, walked up on
and kissed

in the mouth before
by a white gay man.

I mean, it's happened
once in front of friends

who actually had to --

like, two friends who
were cishet Black women,

who literally had to,
like, tell the guy, like,

"You don't do that."

And literally his response was,

"Oh, y'all aren't
in our community.

This is what we do."

And I just remember
in that moment,

like, "That is really sad,

because that is what
most people think."

"This is what we do
in our community,

and, like, we have the
license to touch other people

in a way and to grab people
in their private areas."

I think it happens
a lot of times

in primarily
white-queer-dominated spaces,

where they really, really think
they have ownership over us.

And that's like
Fetishization 101 almost.

But it is a historical element
to where this is coming from.

Mandingo!
Purebred Mandingo.

4,000!

I'll pay more!
500 more!

It might be linked
to the fetishism

around Black and brown bodies.

And this is historical.
It goes back to slavery.

[ Indistinct shouting ]

It's about the control and
manipulation of Black people.

People could be sold
from their families.

Men, women, and children
could be sexualized,

sexually abused.

You attacked me.

So now, lessen you do
what I want...

...I'm gonna tell him
everything.

It links to issues
around segregation

and the control of Black people
moving in spaces

and white-only spaces
and Black-only spaces.

I have watched
people in this country,

generation after generation,
have this ownership

and have this power over
this particular race.

A white woman lies about a young
Black boy whistling at her,

and he gets murdered.

Like, we have seen time
and time and time again,

what the reverse of that
fetishization looks like,

what a rejection of the
fetishization looks like,

what a lie around
fetishization looks like.

And it looks like our death.

CANILLAS:
And so Black trauma in America

I think is very much linked to

Black people's history
in this country.

And people don't really have
conversations around that.

Most people think that,

"Well, slavery was like
several hundred years ago

and people aren't still
affected by that."

But there are
generational things

I think have been
passed on to people,

that have never been
addressed around that trauma.

COPELAND:
Whatever you kind of look at,

you see how these kinds
of systems of racism,

show up today in
our everyday life.

And there's no stronger example
of racial inequity,

racism, anti-Blackness
than health outcomes.

And if we're talking
about West Hollywood,

then HIV in particular really
shows the intersectionality

of oppression.

In Los Angeles,

we have higher cases in
some pretty specific areas.

You see it more
in West Hollywood.

A lot of that is 'cause we see
a lot of same-gender loving

and queer people living
in West Hollywood,

and we have higher numbers
of HIV and STDs

in that community,

not because people
are having more sex,

but because this is what
oppression looks like, right?

You kind of group people up,

and push them in the margins
further, further, further,

you have a smaller
group of people

where infection kind of happens.

DURAN:
10,000 people in West Hollywood

and the surrounding
neighborhoods

were lost in a 15-year period.

That's unbelievable,

if you think about
losing 10,000 people

in a place
that's 1.9 square miles.

I mean, it's like
a bomb got dropped

in the middle of a community.

And so West Hollywood
has been at the forefront

in doing a lot of the pioneering
work around HIV and AIDS

since it's inception.

City was created in 1984, right?

And so even though HIV
had been around since '81,

all the development of
the response to HIV,

a lot of it was based and
centered around West Hollywood.

MORRISON: When you look at
the city of West Hollywood,

or, you know,
more affluent areas,

more areas that are,
let's just say, white,

you see that the money
is going there,

and you see that
the resources are there.

But when you go to
South Los Angeles,

and you can have those
same kinds of hot zones,

for lack of a better word,

there is not the dollar there,

there is not the enthusiasm
to really combat it

like you see in West Hollywood.

COPELAND: And so even though
West Hollywood's a red spot

and South L.A. is a red spot,

the experience is
very different.

When you have more HIV or
any type of infectious disease

in a community,
it's more likely to spread.

And then when you think about
kind of Black communities,

you think about
communities of color,

we are smaller in proportion,

and we tend to associate
ourselves in smaller circles.

So, most of my friends
are Black, right? [ Laughs ]

That's a smaller
number of people.

And so when you take an
infectious disease like HIV

and put it in a smaller circle,
it's going to move faster.

And this is the bigger
kind of 50,000-foot picture

of what centuries and centuries
of oppression

have looked like
for Black people.

JOHNSON: When you look at
the history of health care,

especially Black folks
in the United States,

there has been no reason
to ever trust

the health-care system here.

Experiments were done to slaves.

Experiments to
test out surgeries,

to test out the
removal of body parts

and attaching them
in other places,

and how the body would respond.

Like, there've been a lot
of heinous things done

to Black folks in
the health-care arena

to "create breakthroughs."

But we were the people
who were used

for those breakthroughs.

GORE: In 1932, America's
Public Health Service

set out to study syphilis,

but it pursued this
worthy goal in a manner

that was irredeemably cruel --

the infamous project called
"The Tuskegee Study

of Untreated Syphilis
in the Negro Male."

Several hundred
African-American men,

men the Public Health Service
recruited

at churches and clinics and
farms, were used in the study.

Most of these men had syphilis.

None of them knew their
bodies harbored this disease.

And then
the Public Health Service

followed the men's lives,

watched how the
disease developed,

all the while
withholding medicine,

withholding treatment
of any kind

for these innocent
American citizens.

Medical professionals willingly,
intentionally,

let human beings suffer
from a treatable,

and then later
a curable illness.

The major cases, of something
like the Tuskegee,

that is the one case
where everybody is like,

"This is why we don't
necessarily trust

when the vaccine comes out.

This is why we don't
necessarily trust

when anything new comes out,

any new medication,
any new drug,

any new procedure,
any new treatment comes out."

And it is truly because
we remember that,

and we remember
what was done to us.

We were treated unfairly,

to some extent
like Guinea pigs.

We were all hardworking men
and not boys

and citizens of
the United States.

The wounds that were inflicted
upon us cannot be undone.

Even if you wanted to
invest in your health care,

there's a fear there,
a very real fear,

because it is based
on truthful events

and things that have happened.

Men who were poor
and African-American,

without resources
and with few alternatives,

they believed
they had found hope

when they were offered
free medical care

by the United States
Public Health Service.

They were betrayed.

JOHNSON: It's just embedded
into our culture

to not seek medical attention
until the necessary moment

to have to seek
medical attention.

And so you have
that playing a role,

but then you also have the fact
that if you just look

at our socioeconomic status
in this country,

we don't have the resources
to have annual checkups

and annual physicals.

Some of us don't have
health insurance.

Some of us don't have
primary care doctors.

So it's not even just
as simple as saying,

"Oh, we don't trust
the health-care system."

Many of us don't even
have the finances

to even invest in
our own health.

So, we're asking people to try

and go through this
piecemeal system,

on top of potentially
having genetics

that kind of make you
predisposed to addiction,

without social services
and other support systems

that really respond to
these outcomes that,

you know, are traumatizing.

And this is why we see
people who abuse substances,

or people who use
substances as well.

You know, because,
"The shit is hard,

so why wouldn't I
try and get something

to make me feel better?"

[ Mid-tempo music plays ]

MAN:
Methamphetamine, methedrine,

which is known among
drug users as speed.

The person who is using
this drug as a drug user

will smack or mainline --
that is, take intravenously --

a thousand milligrams,

100 times the dose that
any person would give

in the medical use
of this kind of drug.

Causes a fantastic
speeding up of the mind.

At the same time,

his heart is beating
at a fantastic rate,

maybe in excess of
150 beats a minute,

normal being 72.

As this drug begins to wear off,

there's a tremendous
psychic reaction,

so the person becomes
markedly depressed,

severely depressed,

which in itself is
enough reason for him

to want to take more drugs.

DURAN: Back then it was
called crank.

It's associated in the gay
community as a sex drug.

So if somebody is wanting to
party and play for days on end,

notwithstanding the
fact nobody can maintain

any sort of erection for days,

but still the party and play
atmosphere of using that drug

in those sexual scenarios
just feeds the beast.

McCLELLAND: Injecting drugs for
the purpose of having sex.

You party, and you all
do different types of drugs

like crystal meth.

When you see the large "T"
for Tina.

Sometimes you'll see, like
I said, like blue elephants,

and you'll see things
that indicate Ecstasy,

or things that indicate
Molly usage or pill usage.

Getting high on any various
amounts of these drugs

and having sex for hours.

DURAN: There's a high, there's
a moment that one chases.

There's a moment when
I'm either high or drunk

where the world seems
to suddenly make sense

and everything falls into place.

It's that one moment.

It can be on a dance floor,

it can be in the
middle of an orgy,

it can be in the middle
of a sexual scenario.

For me, when I used to get
drunk or high, was at Gay Pride.

When I was out on the dance
floor with 2,000 people,

LGBT of every stripe
in the community,

and the bass was pounding

and everybody was moving
like a tribe, right?

Like a tribe of people,
and there was no difference.

That's the moment for me,

that connection
to a tribe of community.

MAJOR: And, you know, you think
you're having fun with it,

but you also didn't
want people to know

that you're doing this
and that you're partying,

you're having sex,
and you're into this world,

because of everything
else going on around you.

Crystal meth, to me,
was Middle America,

"We ain't got nothing to do.

And we're gonna hit this pipe,

and carrying on with our lives."

When I heard that it was
affecting my community,

and even in the way it was,

with sex work, even intimacy,

it broke my heart
because I knew,

coming from a place
who has had issues

with dealing with family
and friends, with sexuality,

that it was coming
from a place of hurt.

And the fact that
sex was involved,

some people are seeking
some type of intimacy

they didn't get from
mommy and daddy.

It's a myriad of factors just
relating back to surviving

and relating to just trying to
get through their day-to-day

and deal with the social factors
that come with being gay,

with being Black in America.

CANILLAS: There are issues that
are not being processed

around sexual orientation.

And the Black
community historically

has had problems with that.

MORRISON: But before we get so
aggressive in our chastisements

or, you know, put them in some
kind of program or whatever,

we need to understand
the why, the root cause.

[ Up-tempo gospel music plays ]

♪ Jesus said it ♪

♪ Jesus said it ♪

♪ Jesus said it ♪

♪ Jesus said it ♪

♪ He said, "Believe on me" ♪

CANILLAS: Many people grow up
in the Black church.

In the Black church, people
don't necessarily believe

that that's condoned.

They see that as two
different issues.

They don't see
the LGBT community

or people that are part of it

as part of the Black community,
necessarily.

That perverted
homosexual spirit

is a spirit of delusion
and confusion

and it has deceived
many men and women!

And it's caused a stain
on the body of Christ.

And those homosexual spirits
have been angry,

and they come up
against you, saying,

"You got to love everybody."

Sit down, you serpent!

MAN: Come on! Talk!

And there's a lot of shame
and guilt around being gay,

for many people who've
not processed that,

because of family rejection,

community rejection,
religious issues.

And so they come into
these relationships,

and in order to function,

whether it's like a hookup
or a relationship,

they have to be intoxicated

in order to connect
to that person.

MORRISON:
When they use drugs,

it helps them to
overcome that hump,

overcome the shame
they may feel.

So, I have seen
a huge correlation

between drug use and sex work.

I had an individual that
I mentored for years,

and this person disappeared.

And when the person resurfaced,
you know,

they shared that they had been

working the block
or working the street.

And when I inquired,
"Well, what happened?"

it was no judgment, they shared
that they engage in sex work

because it makes
them feel loved.

This person said that,
"When I'm on the street

and when someone picks me up
and pays me and holds me

and we have sex, I feel loved.

I feel like I matter."

And knowing that this
person grew up in a home

that kicked them out because
of their sexual identity,

that kind of shunned them,
you know,

it was a religious background --
shocking --

I thought that was
a huge statement,

to know that someone
is engaging in sex work

not because they
don't have money,

not because they're
trying to survive,

but because they want to
have some level of intimacy

with an individual
that needs them.

I was not aware of what
went on in West Hollywood.

I was not aware of white gay men
using crystal meth

to bait young Black gay men

and use them as their
little toys or whatever.

I was not aware of all of that.

And it's just proof that,

just because we say
we're in the fight

or say that we're out there
being advocates,

our eyes are not everywhere.

And unfortunately with Gemmel,
he lost his life as a result.

This is something that
shouldn't have happened.

It just shouldn't have happened.

My son filed police reports.

He cried out to so many people,

and we all failed him.

JOHNSON: There is no such thing
as a Black victim.

So, you know, you kind of
got to start from there.

Like, what is a Black
victim in this country?

-MAN: What do you want?
-CROWD: Justice!

-MAN: When do you want it?
-CROWD: Now!

-MAN: What do you want?
-CROWD: Justice!

-MAN: When do you want it?
-CROWD: Now!

No justice, no peace!

No racist police!

CROWD: [ Chanting ]
Gemmel Moore! Gemmel Moore!

Gemmel Moore!
Gemmel Moore!

Gemmel Moore!
Gemmel Moore!

Gemmel Moore!
Gemmel Moore!

Gemmel Moore!
Gemmel Moore!

Gemmel Moore!
Gemmel Moore!

Society has never stood up for,
again, a Black victim.

And so I think you
can just easily shift

that whole framing to
this same situation.

Had Ed Buck's victim had
been a white gay man,

not only would you have had

just people up in arms about it,

but you probably would
have seen a lot of those

white-centered LGBT orgs
have more statements about it.

When it comes to the death
of Gemmel Moore,

and the media coverage,

I think a lot of it had to
do with just his connections

in the community
that Ed Buck was not aware of.

Gemmel was known,
Gemmel was loved,

and Gemmel had some very
influential people in his life

that were going to do
what they had to do

to make sure that his
death was not in vain.

Had it not been for Gemmel
and his connections

and who he knew,

this whole situation would
have been swept under the rug,

and it would have happened
again and again and again.

[ Chanting ] Arrest Ed Buck!
Arrest Ed Buck!

Arrest Ed Buck!
Arrest Ed Buck!

REPORTER:
Ed Buck is behind bars

after his arrest overnight.

REPORTER #2: Here you can see
Buck taken away in handcuffs,

charged with
operating a drug den

out of his West Hollywood home

and providing methamphetamine.

First off, I would like to thank
U.S. Attorney Nick Hanna

and Sheriff Alex Villanueva

for their interagency effort,

which has now culminated
with the arrest

and subsequent filing charges
against defendant Buck.

Unfortunately we can't
bring those Black men back,

but the reality of it is
they're getting the justice

that they deserve.

They are getting the justice
that needs to be served.

JOHNSON: The problem with
that is, though, is that

we shouldn't only show up
in their death,

and we shouldn't only
show up in their violence.

We should be showing up
in their life.

BARON: People were so fixated on
getting this man in jail,

without addressing
the heap of issues

that are also
involved in this case.

The more further down on
the totem pole you are

when it comes to
being marginalized,

the less your body is valued.

And this had so many components
when it came to sex work,

when it came to drug addiction,
when it came to race,

when it came to gender identity,
when it came to sexuality.

This wasn't just a death.

All of these issues
played a role,

in Timothy and Gemmel's fate.

And they're plaguing
our community,

not just for gay men,
not just for Black gay men,

but our transgender
brothers and sisters

who are right in front of
our faces in our communities

and in your community
all over the world.

Transgender people are being
murdered, and nobody cares.

LULU: Everybody needs someone
to make them feel superior.

That line ends with us, though.

The shit runs downhill,
past the women,

the Blacks, Latins, gays,

until it reaches the bottom
and lands on our kind.

I have been to jail!

I been raped and beaten
many times

by men, heterosexual men!

I have lost my job,
I have lost my apartment

for gay liberation!

And you all treat me this way?!

What the fuck's wrong
with you all?

Think about that!

BROADCASTER: And investigators
are looking into a hate crime

after three transgender women
were attacked,

and one allegedly robbed.

The victims say,
instead of helping them,

witnesses mocked them.

BROADCASTER #2:
Hate crimes directed

at transgender individuals
increased 42% in one year.

Two men have been
arrested in the murders

of two transgender women
this month.

We're getting a first look
at one of the suspects.

This is Dontarius Long.

BROADCASTER: Jaida Peterson
was shot and killed

outside this Quality Inn
on Queen City Drive.

MAN: With the support of
the LBGT community,

support of the
Richmond Police Department,

as you can see out here
with the community,

we're going to continue
to keep looking.

And all those who love the Lord
would say amen!

CROWD: Amen!

[ Indistinct conversations ]

SAHAR: There was nothing
for me coming up.

There was no sisterhood
of trans organizations.

There were no clubs that
really catered to people

that I identify with.

And that in itself
speaks volumes.

So it takes entertainment for
someone to take us seriously,

but this subject matter
has been going on

since the beginning of time.

And to be honest with you,
it is, as we say,

at the bottom of the totem pole.

It is the community that needs
the most help, the most help.

Any one of us could've
had this card in life.

Any one of our family members
could have had

this card in life.

Any one of us can still
have this card in life.

BARON: There should be just as
much energy from Black people

from the LGBT community

that are out there
protesting for Gemmel Moore,

Timothy Dean,
all those people.

And it seems to fall short
when it comes to

the lower you are

in the marginalized identities
that you hold.

When it comes to
the Black community

showing up for
the Black trans community...

...do I believe that
they're showing up?

No. No.

I have a friend
who identifies,

he's Puerto Rican and Black,

a gay male, engaged to a man.

And we've had conversations
around his support

of the current
presidential administration

and their war on LGBT people

and their beginnings
with the trans community.

And his response was,

"Well, they're not part
of the LGBT community."

Like, "What are you talking
about? They're the 'T.'"

Like, that doesn't make
any kind of sense to me.

Does the LGB community
support the "T"?

No.

That was the answer.

As a Black gay man,

I find it funny
that so many of us

do not really get involved
in transgender issues.

We don't really take the time
to understand the challenges,

the struggles, the obstacles.

I oftentimes think about
my challenges, you know,

with with cisgender
heterosexual men

and them understanding
my gayness.

The same grace should be
extended to transgender persons,

especially transgender
persons of color.

I was on set, and there
was a group of male dancers

that didn't know my truth.

They didn't know that I was
a woman of trans experience.

And some of the other dancers
that were there

that did identify as gay

had basically disclosed
my truth to these people,

which could have put me
in harm's way,

which could have caused
me to be hurt,

you know,
in the parking lot.

At the end of lunch,
that entire room had shifted.

No one was talking to me.

People were saying
little remarks to me,

and I saw those
gay men snickering.

And I think that a lot
of cisgender people

think there we're
all this happy family

under this beautiful rainbow.

And it's not -- it's not true.

[ Whistles blowing ]

We weren't necessarily
raised to feel

that we belonged
in this community.

So a lot of times you learn
these tactics of survival

that aren't necessarily healthy,

for, you know,
the simple fact of surviving,

for the simple fact of not being
able to be hired somewhere.

[ Suspenseful music ]

So what are you going to do?

If you're being discriminated
against because of who you are

and no one will hire you,
but you still need to eat,

your natural instinct
to survive will kick in.

And what do you have?
You have your body.

WOMAN: I'm a prostitute.

And, but I'm taking
care of myself.

We're all prostitutes.
[ Chuckles ]

It's a fact.

That's what mainly most
of these transsexuals --

not most, all -- start off
prostituting, you know,

making money out here
to support themselves.

It's the truth.

You know, you can joke
off of it here and there,

and stuff like that,
but it's the truth,

and you go through
a lot of danger,

but it's just a fact of life

being for the discrimination
out in the world.

No matter how lovely you can
be, you know what I mean,

how real, how beautiful
you can be,

you will always be discriminated
for the simple fact

that you're a transsexual.

DAVIS: I felt like
I could not get a job

because I was transgender,

because there's a phobia
when it comes to transgenders.

And it held me back
for a long time.

I had surrendered to the
fact that, "You know what?

I'm just going to
be a sex worker and just...

Like, this is it."

I really came to that
point of just surrender.

"I'm going to do drugs,

and I'm gonna prostitute.

That's it."

MILLER: I filled out numerous
applications for places.

And I had an interview
at Victoria's Secret.

But Victoria's Secret
told me that

they would not call
me by my girl name.

They're going to call
me by the I.D. I had

prior to the application.

And I told them, "No,
you will not call me that."

And I done did
this over and over,

and ended up, like,
finding sex work.

A friend told me about it,
and the money was great,

and that's what I did.

Being a Black trans woman
in the music industry,

I've faced countless
examples of discrimination.

One particular
was that I was invited

into a producing-writing room,

and it was just me and
this well-known producer

at the time.

I was just happy
to be in the space,

to be presented
that opportunity.

But then I realized
that that said producer

did not know the fullness
of my existence,

which means he did not know

that I was a powerful
Black trans woman.

And I saw the switch

soon as I divulged
more of my truth.

My talent went out the door,

singing ability
went out the door.

My production ability
went out the door,

all on the notion
of understanding

because I was
a Black trans woman.

I had really hit a bottom
in downtown L.A.

DAVIS: And I remember
sliding down the wall,

and I was like, "Is this
where my life is going to go?"

And...

I was just like, "No, I just
can't be on the streets

of downtown L.A."

I wasn't gonna allow
that to happen.

So I started going to
the streets of Hollywood.

The girls, they were sassy
and they were funky,

and I was attracted to that.

And I started doing drugs,

and I started getting into
this lifestyle of prostitution

because it was only something
I can do with drugs.

I remember I did
weed, I did shrooms,

I did acid, I did PCP.

I've done it all.

But once I got to
crystal meth, it was...

That was all it took.

[ Inhaling and exhaling ]

It made my transition
just a little bit easier.

I didn't care so much
about being liked

or whether it was okay to
walk down the street anymore,

because it made it okay.

I could hop into cars, I can
get paid for sex, you know?

And after a while,

I started to connect
prostitution with love.

I felt like I can get
love through this.

I felt like if a guy
was giving me money,

he was showing me some
type of attention or love,

which was something I was
lacking for many years.

And that's kind of
how it started.

♪ Hello, hello ♪

♪ Hello, hello ♪

WOMAN: Cindy-rella.

Looks like someone
has a crush.

♪ Hello, hello ♪

MAN: Cindy's back on the block?

WOMAN:
Oh, yeah, she's back.

♪ Hello, hello ♪

♪ Hello, hello ♪

How much?
Honey, thousands. [ Laughs ]

MAN: Sorry?

[ Laughter ]

Do you want to say that
in a complete sentence?

Yeah, the money was like

over thousands and thousands
of dollars.

Nonstop.

Day and night.

I used the money for my mother
and my sister.

For drugs, hotel room,

the money was reused
for food and drugs.

The girls would just be
wearing their Daisy Dukes.

You could just be out there
at 2:00 in the morning.

I mean, it was just a setup
for prostitution.

There was the adult bookstore,

there was a Donut Time where
all the girls would hang out.

There's Benito's.

And when I was out there,

there was Del Taco across
the street, there was Arena.

Like, it was just
the hub of everything.

Prostitution, drugs,
the party life, the fast life.

It took me places I never
thought I would go.

And then it just
stopped working for me.

WOMAN: Hello?

You want to see me?
I'm available now.

Darling, my minimum is $150.

Is that a problem?

Well, how generous can
you be on negotiable?

You're really horny?

So am I.

You want to be raped? I don't
have a problem with doing that.

You've been with hundreds of
women and seven transsexuals,

and the transsexuals turn
you on more than women?

Okay, are you ready
to come see me now?

Okay, great.

So I'm gonna run in the house

and put on something
real sexy, honey.

Yes, I got whips,

paddles, dildos, handcuffs,
all of that.

All right, baby, well,
come and get it.

Bye-bye.

Oh, duty calls.

It's a job.
It's a living, honey.

Pays the bills.

NINA: You're literally
in the world alone.

And so if you're
constantly getting fed that

by the notions of
what society gives you,

you then sometimes believe that,

and then you go into a certain
space of the negative,

and that can lead you
into so many things

that are detrimental
to your life.

SAHAR: When you have to wake up
every single day, okay,

and take about
20 to 30 clients a day --

sex work, not something
you wanted to do --

when you have to
do that every day

just to keep a dirty motel
over your head

and you have to succumb
to sex work to survive...

...your only coping is drugs.

I know that some gay-identified
individuals do drugs

to cope with depression,

so I don't want to exclude that,

but I do want to emphasize
that there's a great difference

in the usage of drugs when it
comes to the trans community

and the gay community.

And I think that
that says a lot,

that here we have a lot of
gay individuals

who do drugs for
the thrill of it,

so that they feel
a little bit more sexual,

so they enjoy their sex.

But the girls, every single day,

they are giving their
body to someone,

they're giving a piece
of their soul to someone,

just to live.

And so you're setting
human beings up for failure.

DAVIS:
It was Monday morning, and I...

I didn't have anything to eat.

And I would have done anything
just to get something to eat.

And it was just a really
dark moment in my life,

and I got into this car...

And I, like any good prostitute,

you always get your money first.

And this was one of those times

where I thought I was
gonna get my money first,

and this guy told me,

"You get out of my car
before I beat you down."

And as I tried to
get out of the car,

he proceeded to
sexually assault me

and beat me up.

And it was a very
traumatic situation.

And then after he was done,

he tried to run me over
with his car.

And I called the police.

And when it comes to safety...

...it seemed like they
were just kind of just,

"This is just what happens."

They didn't do a rape kit.

They didn't do anything.

They were just, "Well,
we'll stay here by your side."

But I think that they had
kind of, you know --

'cause after that was done, I
had to get back on the streets

'cause that's all I knew.

WOMAN: A lot of people
who I grew up with

are not alive today.

They have either died from
alcoholism and drug addiction,

overdoses, or died,
or killed by...

In the streets.

Violently sometimes.
Or you know, died of AIDS.

Tell them,
because I don't want to die.

You know?

Look, you seen
"Paris Is Burning"? Venus?

She got killed.

I don't want to be that way,
you know?

That's my fear.

It's absolutely crazy.

You won't hire the girls,

but they're not supposed
to escort either.

So what are they
supposed to do, die?

Because that's what
the message gives to me.

We've seen that as a fact,

in the hate crimes
and discrimination,

in the murders.

And that saddens me.

It saddens me that,
as a community,

we still in 2021, don't know how
to come together.

I needed to talk about
Iyanna Dior.

[ Indistinct shouting ]

Black transgender
that was assaulted

by over 30 men
in a convenience store

where we're protesting
for "Black Lives Matter"

because a Black man
was shot by the police.

But meanwhile,
we're in a convenience store

beating down
a Black transgender female.

They tried to justify it,

that is justified that
a Black transgender

gets beat down by men that
are three times her size?

Black people.
This is Black people.

[ Indistinct shouting ]

And when I saw that, I was...

I was like, "That could be me."

MADISON: The thing that
hurts me the most

is that I got to face white
supremacy from the white men.

Then I got to turn
around and face...

...hatred from my own Black,
you know?

So, I think what people don't
understand with trans women

is that it's hard.

With me, not even
feeling included,

I know that it is my duty
to still stand up

for Black lives, Black lives
protests and movements

because I'm Black first.

COPELAND: But the ways that
Black cis women

have showed up for trans women,

doesn't align with
the spirit of womanhood

that I think we have
as Black women,

the experience of
oppression that we have.

It's been adversarial,

that Black trans women somehow
take away our womanhood.

JOSSELL:
It's a reciprocation thing

that I specifically don't get

from certain members
within my own community.

It feels sometimes as if,
"Oh, Black liberation,"

but you're still other,
like I'm still othered.

And so it gets very
challenging to, you know,

to get out there and march
and things

when you know,

I know inherently that if the
shoe were on the other foot,

no one would bat an eyelash.

I'm so sorry, I don't want to
take this away from you,

but let me tell you something,

Black trans women are being
killed in this country.

And CNN, you have erased
Black trans women,

for the last time!

Let me tell you something.

Black trans women are dying!
Our lives matter!

I'm an extraordinary
Black trans woman,

and I deserve to be here!

My Black trans sisters
that are here,

I am tired!

I am so tired!

-I was just sitting there.
-MAN: Ma'am.

It's not just my Black trans
women.

With my Black trans brothers
too!

And I'm gonna say
what I'm gonna say!

[ Down-tempo music plays ]

LT. MILLER: The early morning
hours of June 13th,

essentially our officers, right
before 8:00 a.m. on June 13th,

they get a call for a man down.

Officer responds to that area,

which is essentially in
this east Akron area

near the University of Akron.

And the officer got there,

and they found Mr. Powers
down on the ground,

unresponsive,
with apparent gunshot wounds,

and he was deceased.

[ Music continues ]

I told you I did a deep dive
last night

trying to figure out --

"Now, of course
this has been solved."

You know, it's a big city.

I'm just amazed, and I'm just...

There's no suspect,
there's no arrest.

Maybe I shouldn't be, like,
shocked, but...

[ Music continues ]

POWERS: He would light up a room
when he came in.

He was very loud, very
boisterous, very colorful.

And you couldn't be sad
around him, you know?

Even if he was sad and
going through something,

he wanted to make sure you
were feeling good and happy.

You know, he was very strong.

And I told him I was
proud of him for that,

because I know it
had to be hard,

to be who he was in
the '80s and the '90s

and even the 2000s.

He was, you know --
he was a gay Black man,

gay Black transgender man,

that was 6'2" from South Akron.

And you know,
that's a rougher side of town.

You know, you tough when
you come from South Akron,

so he thought
he had to be tough,

but he was the sweetest person.

The first big thing
I remember is Brian --

my dad was like, "Come on, guys.
We only got 20 minutes.

Pick your toy.
We got to get to this movie."

And Brian was standing
in front of these trucks,

and he was like, "I don't
want a truck, Vivian."

I said, "Okay, what do you want?

We've got 20 minutes,
you got to come on."

"I don't want a truck.
I want a My Little Pony.

So why don't you tell dad
that you want My Little Pony?"

He got the toy,
he put it on the counter,

he said, "Dad,
I don't want a truck."

He said, "Okay," while he's
going through his wallet.

He said, "I want
My Little Pony."

He said, "Well, Brian,
pick the one you want.

Come on, we got to go!"

At first he was Brian,
and he was Pocahontas.

He wanted Pocahontas hair.

Then he was Brian,
the boy Beyoncé.

Then he was Egypt.

You know, it just depended
on how he felt as he grew.

And then later in years
he would say,

"Okay, I'm gay.
I'm transgender, honey.

I'm everything. I'm everything.

I'm mother, honey.
I'm just everything."

[ Laughing ] That's how
he would talk.

PRICE:
I didn't know he was Egypt

until I was passing
flyers around

and someone said,
"Is that Egypt?"

I'm like, "Egypt?"
Said, "Yeah, that's Egypt."

So, that's how I knew.

He had all of our staff
and half of the security guards

in laughter and tears

because he was like
creating his comedy show.

I would bring him on
just so we could laugh.

You know, he was just fun.
He was a fun guy.

Someone that anyone
would want on their team.

He was a great
productive member of society.

His personal choices
should not have interfered

with his living his life.

And it caused...

...our world to be empty.

[ Smooches ]
I kissed it. I did.

[ Smooches ]

You just playing?

I did. [ Smooches ]
Okay.

[ Smooches ] Okay.

He was self-medicating,
you know,

for lack of a better word.

He had a lot of hurt

and a lot of things that he
wouldn't let me in on

until later in years,

'cause I don't know if he
didn't want to hurt my feelings

or didn't want me to worry,

or if it was
embarrassing to him.

Even though he was comfortable
with who he was,

I know he still
had, you know, pain,

and, you know, heartache.

He was always
looking for a job,

and he always seemed to
run into an obstacle

because he was who he was.

You know, he couldn't turn
off being Egypt or Brian.

POWERS: He's not going to show
up to a job in full Egypt gear,

but he's still very feminine.

So it pushed him into
doing other things.

He solicited, he boosted.

The boy could lift
your watch off you

with you looking at him.

He would go to Walmart
and steal everything.

I'm like, "Brian,
stop doing that!"

"I got to make my money.
I'm going to go sell this."

He was good.

That's not a proud thing to say,

but he did what he
had to do to survive.

And he would say,
"Honey, I get out there

and I get dressed up
and I'm gonna do me."

If you seen him when
he was in his heyday,

that boy looked like
a 6'2" gorgeous female.

That's what scared me.

I'm like, "You're going
to run into these men,

and they gonna find out, Brian,
and they're gonna kill you."

He was like,
"Vivian, they know."

And the way he would look at me,
you know, I'm big sister,

I'm like, "No, they don't.
Look at you. You're gorgeous.

They don't know, Brian!
You're not in a gay club.

You're in a regular, you know,

what they call
a regular heterosexual --"

He said, "Vivian, they know."

A few years went by, and I'm
like, "Oh, shit, they do know."

But they might not have
wanted the world to know.

They had their own little
secret world behind doors.

But that's what scared me.

I heard he was at a party
that night.

As Egypt.

Yeah.

If he was younger
and heterosexual,

I believe it would've
been solved by now.

Like we said earlier,
if he was an Akron U. student,

they would have moved
heaven and earth

to find out who killed him.

But Akron U's comment was,
"He wasn't a student of ours."

He was a human being.
So what?

So he wasn't a student of yours,

so you're not going
to investigate

what happened on your campus?

Because he was a Black man,
and was gay, transgender.

Outside what society
deems as normal.

It's like, "Oh, he must've
did something to deserve it."

So, it was hard when it came
out that he did do things,

sex work and, you know,
or had an issue with drugs,

because I kept thinking,
"Don't put him in this light."

And they just gonna
throw him away.

COPELAND: As of right now,

Black trans people are
living in a state of urgency

because they don't feel safe.

They don't feel safe
to be able to live

and imagine what 65
and 75 will look like.

We need a talking-to
in our own community

because we do not show up.

There has been countless deaths

when it comes to
trans individuals.

And it is so crazy to me,

so crazy that we can
applaud the entertainment

because it makes us feel good.

But what are we doing
outside of that?

What are we doing
outside of that?

What organizations and
laws are put into place

for these trans murders to stop?

I haven't seen any.

That saddens me.

This is 2021.

It's no longer something
that could just be taboo

and just thrown in the back
of a closet and be like,

"Oh, Black lives matter,
but trans lives don't."

It doesn't work like that.

Black people are being murdered,

and the reality of it is
all of us should come together.

There is racism
within the LGBT community.

There is misogyny within
the LGBT community.

There is transphobia
within the LGBT community.

There's homophobia within
the Black community.

Are you not paying attention
or are you not seeing

how you are mirroring
the exact same thing

that you claim to
be fighting against?

Like you're literally
parroting what you are

bitching about white people
doing to you.

You're parroting that onto
other marginalized communities,

and you don't even see it.

You don't even see it,

because you're willfully
choosing not to see it.

We cannot be empowered to
dismantle white supremacy

but be disempowered to
acknowledge the existence

of Black trans people.

Black or brown
trans women of color

are being murdered
by people like me.

Cisgender men.

COOPER: Often,
here in the United States,

people know that trans women,

particularly the Black trans
women who've been murdered,

often have some type of
relationship with the murderer.

It may be a sexual relationship.

It may just be
a friendly relationship.

It might just be
you Snapchatting each other.

But they knew each other
somehow before this happened.

And I'm saying it more
and more every day,

that as trans women,

particularly as
Black trans women,

if we can't trust
people that we know,

then who are
we supposed to trust?

JOHNSON: We already have
no respect, in many ways,

for Black queer people.

And then there's an
even harsher disrespect

for people who
identify as trans.

And the fact that people
feel like they can act out

and murder somebody
is a problem.

Because we're not holding
those people accountable

for what they're doing.

If they're under attack,
we're under attack.

And you know, that bar,

it just continues
to harm whomever,

or who society deems
is the most disposable.

And that bar can
move at any time.

That bar in many ways
has affected us.

That is why Ed Buck
was able to do

what Ed Buck was able to do,

because our disposability
came into question,

and many people saw us as
a disposable part of humanity.

I represent a population
that gets killed every day.

Think about your
privilege in the space

that you can access to speak
my name and my people's name

that are not here today.

and who have paved the way
for all of us to be here.

I think we have to do
a much better job of, one,

realizing that intracommunity,
as Black LGBTQ people,

we have to do a better job,

if we don't identify as trans,
as supporting, protecting,

and creating resources
and creating spaces for them

so that they are
safely among us.

You have to be grounded
and be humble

and willing to check in
with yourself every month,

every week, every year --
how can I better --

How can I be a better human?

How can I show up in spaces?

And if it challenges
your perception, so be it.

Read, ask questions, talk.

Don't live in your bubble.

Don't be confined
to your four walls.

Learn about things
outside of yourself,

because once you do that,
that's all you can do.

Like, I don't know a lot of
stuff till I asked questions,

till I did the research.

Do the research.

JOSSELL: And a lot of these

things, you can't go back.

Once you read certain articles,

once you have certain
conversations,

once you see certain
documentaries,

read certain books,
there is no going back.

You can't go back to
your comfort of ignorance

once you're exposed
to certain things.

Care.
These are people's kids.

That is the battle that we face,

because we can't just stay
bubbled into our own space.

We have to navigate the world
in order to change it.

[ Drums beating ]

[ Crowd cheering ]

Ohhhhhhhhhh!

-Black lives!
-CROWD: Louder!

-Black lives!
-Louder!

-Black lives!
-Louder!

-Black queer! Black queer!
-Louder!

-Black trans! Black trans!
-Louder!

-Black women! Black women!
-Louder!

-Black men! Black men!
-Louder!

-Black children! Black children!
-Louder!

-Black trans children!
-Louder!

-Black trans children!
-Louder!

-Black trans children!
-Louder!

-Trans youth! Trans youth!
-Louder!

[ Indistinct chanting ]

[ Cheering, drums beating ]

[ Monitor beeping ]

SAHAR: This is our time.

I want trans women, trans men,

gender nonconforming individuals
to feel heard.

I love you.

I don't have to know you
personally. I love you.

Just because you are yourself.

So keep thriving,
keep believing.

It's probably always going
to be some level of a fight,

but you're not alone.

I see you. I love you.

That's what I want them to know.

PROTESTER:
Can you say, "No more"?

CROWD: No more!

PROTESTER:
One more time together.

ALL: No more!

PROTESTER:
And one more time.

ALL: No more!

I want him to know
I'm not gonna stop.

I'm not gonna give up on him,

'cause he wouldn't
give up on me.

♪ Happy birthday to you ♪

♪ Happy birthday, dear Brian ♪

♪ Happy birthday to you ♪

Tell your Brian,
"God don't make mistakes."

Hold on to 'em.

Let them know you love them.

Let them know that
you're there for them.

And let them know
that they matter.

I'm going to do everything I
can do to get him justice.

'Cause his life was worth it.
He mattered.

[ Down-tempo music plays ]

MILLER:
I am sober, two years sober.

I am working now.

I'm not a sex worker.
I'm a worker amongst workers.

I'm a manager at
a grooming salon.

I go to meetings
every single day

to help me with my addiction.

I have a strong support group
that really cares about me.

And I'm just as free
as the life could be.

Today I am working.

I work full-time.

I'm a manager
at a call center.

I'm currently going
back to school.

I'm working on my business
administration degree,

my associate's in science.

In the fall I'm
gonna be taking Spanish,

geography, and psychology.

I'm sober.
I'm coming up on 10 years.

I have an amazing life today.

Recently, in 2018, I was
able to have my sex change.

And I'm...

If I could tell you
the feeling that I have

just being in my own skin,

like, this is what life's about.

This is, right here,

to be able to feel comfortable
in your own skin is just --

you know, be able to look at
yourself in the mirror

and just love what you see,

you just can't
put a price on that.

[ Music continues ]

[ Music fades ]

[ "Triumphant (Life Song)"
plays ]

♪ Here we are ♪

♪ Face to face ♪

♪ Staring at each other
with familiar grace ♪

♪ So many things
I want to tell you ♪

♪ Young dreamer, as you
start your journey too ♪

♪ The road ahead is bumpy ♪

♪ But trust the guide within ♪

♪ No one has your insight ♪

♪ Your eye to win ♪

♪ Some will police you ♪

♪ But the case will go cold ♪

♪ Hold fast to your beliefs ♪

♪ Because they're your own ♪

♪ I may fall ♪

♪ I may cry ♪

♪ I'm determined
to touch the sky ♪

♪ I am brave ♪

♪ I am strong ♪

♪ Resilience is my life song ♪

♪ So many questions
you want answers to ♪

♪ Just keep working ♪

♪ They will find you soon ♪

♪ In the darkest times ♪

♪ Your light still shines ♪

♪ I know you're tired ♪

♪ But please don't
stop your grind ♪

♪ There is power in your story ♪

♪ For the whole world to see ♪

♪ You are a beacon of hope ♪

♪ A love legacy ♪

♪ I may fall ♪

♪ I may cry ♪

♪ I'm determined
to touch the sky ♪

♪ I am brave ♪

♪ I am strong ♪

♪ Resilience is my life song ♪

♪ Look at how far you've come ♪

♪ Broke the chains,
come undone ♪

♪ Rewrite your story,
true champion ♪

♪ I may fall ♪

♪ I may cry ♪

♪ I'm determined
to touch the sky ♪

♪ I am brave ♪

♪ I am strong ♪

♪ Resilience is my life song ♪

[ Music continues ]

WOMAN:
You tears are beautiful.

Your scars, they tell a story.

No pain lasts forever.

You are divinely you,

and there is no one,
absolutely no one

that can take your power.

You are my sister.

You are my brother.

You are my friend.

And I will speak your name
because your life --

your life has not
been lived in vain.

Love -- Love is the key that
unlocks a hateful heart.

So trust -- trust in the deepest
part of your soul

that all things work together
for those who choose love

as the key in the solution
to heal mankind.

You are me.

And I am you.

I love you.
I will fight for you.

I will speak your name.

My fallen brothers and sisters,
you are not lost.

We will speak your name.
We love you.