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Islan Nettles wanted a career in fashion and according to friends and family, was also a photographer. Sadly, she will never get to reach for her dreams. Islan Nettles, a transgender woman, died in the early morning hours on Saturday, August 17th, in Harlem, as a result of a brutal attack. When her body was found, an eye was swollen shut, and parts of her skull and brain had to be removed due to swelling.
Her friends, family, and community are heartbroken, and angry. Join them tonight for a vigil. Mourn this light that could have shone bright.
Vigil for Islan
Date: Tuesday, August 27th, 2013
Time: 6pm
Where: Jackie Robinson Park, Entrance on W. 148th Street @ Bradhurst Avenue, Harlem, NY
Ms. Nettles’ family, along with Harlem Pride are organizing the vigil as a celebration of Islan, her love of life, and an opportunity for the community to come together in unity and peace. If you are a community member who would like to support AVP by attending/volunteering please email Robert Lopez at rlopez@avp.org and plan to meet at AVP today, Tuesday, August 27th at 4:30pm.
We at Visual AIDS believe that justice is a supreme form of HIV prevention. When a person is attacked for who they are it strikes fear in the heart of the community, making it harder for people to be themselves, to express their beauty, to take healthy risks, to dare, to dream, to be bold, to strike out, to demand more, to affirm who they are. Together, we need to affirm Islan's life, we need to counter the fear with support. We need to work together so that people feel secure enough to be themselves, so they can see that there are systems at play that want to keep them down. By coming together we lift people up. We need to affirm self determination and we need to show up for each other, to illustrate that, although life is hard, there are people out there for us.