Brave Space Alliance on Chicago's South Side helps trans women of color fighting for their lives

Friday, March 12, 2021

Transgender women of color fighting for their lives

If it wasn't for LaSaia Wade, many transgender and gender non-conforming people of color wouldn't have a place to turn to for help in Chicago.

CHICAGO (WLS) -- If it wasn't for LaSaia Wade, many transgender and gender non-conforming people of color wouldn't have a place to turn to for help in Chicago.

"I promised myself that I would at least have one resource for anyone that comes in the space that I am in and I have kept that promise," said LaSaia Wade, the founder and executive director of Brave Space Alliance.

Brave Space Alliance is the first Black and transgender-led LGBTQ+ center on the South Side. The center provides a variety of services including support groups, employment help and a food pantry.

Our America: Women Forward | List of resources

"There was no place that is dedicated for trans or gender non-conforming people to center themselves, to be their authentic selves," she said.

Tatyana Moaton is a board member for Brave Space Alliance. She said Wade works around the clock.

"She answers the call when people call her," Moaton said.

Wade knows the struggles for familial and societal acceptance as a transgender person. She became an activist after her college friend was killed in 2010.

"They found her on the side of the road wrapped up in saran wrap with her hands tied behind her back. And in that moment, I knew that trans people could not live authentically," she said.

Violence against transgender and gender non-conforming people is on the rise. The Human Rights Campaign recorded 44 deaths in 2020, more than any year since tracking began in 2013. Black and Latinx transgender women are most often the targets.

"They are killed because of someone else's ignorance," Wade said.

Two transgender women were killed nearly two weeks apart in Chicago. And they were friends, Tyianna Alexander and Courtney Eshay Key. Key was killed on Christmas Day. Alexander in January.

The police tape is still up near 75th and Halsted where Lacrisha Alexander's daughter, Tyianna, spent her last few moments alive.

"I want everyone to know she was a lovable person. She was happy," she said.

Wade said her community is struggling to survive. And only a few seem to care.

"We need comrades. And the reason why I say we need comrades, I need to know that you're beside me. And when someone attacks me, you're there to help me," she said.

For more information about Brave Space Alliance, click here https://www.bravespacealliance.org/ or call (872) 333-5199.

"Our America: Women Forward" is special series celebrating women across this country through stories of their perseverance, resilience, triumph, hope, achievement, strength and power. We will break down the disparities that challenge progress and the systemic sexism at the root of it all. You'll meet mothers, daughters, sisters and friends; innovators, teachers, gamechangers, power players, explorers, athletes and everyday heroes. The stories will begin to air on Eyewitness News at 4pm on March 8 and will culminate in a one-hour documentary that will air Saturday, March 13.