11 QUEER,TRANS VICTIMS OF SEXUAL&PHYSICAL ASSAULT
Donation protected
VICTIMS INVOLVED: Ebon, Mimi, Mahogany, Yahaira, Josie, Mossi, Nana, Velvet, Sydney, Jaira, and Sade.
On July 22nd, 2023 11 queer, transgender, predominately black folks walked down 223 Dyckaman St to ‘Papasitos’ to have a beautiful time. The majority of us reside in Brooklyn, New York so we wanted to go outside of our usual spots and we thought we’d be respected while we did that. Instead when we walked to the front of the club, a security guard proceeded to pat all 11 of us down and made it a point to touch our genitals VERY aggressively, to the point where the first few of us involuntarily responded by yelling out in shock. We didn’t have much say in her doing so because she did not ask for our consent before touching us, and this was by no means a standard "pat-down." All of us were caught off guard, it then escalated after a few of our friends spoke up because they weren’t comfortable with entering the club if they had to be touched that way. It then led to Yahaira, a black and queer friend of ours getting verbally assaulted and then physically assaulted for trying to get Ebon, Sade, Sydney, Mimi, and Josie out of the club so we could go on about our night. So naturally we run to their aid and we’re met with not only physical assault but being maced four times. Ebon, Mahogany, Yahaira, Nana, Sydney, Mossi, Mimi were all maced but for 3+ hours Ebon, Mimi, Nana, and Mahogany were blinded and surrounded by cops as they tried to get some sort of aid. After having mace in all of our hair, down our throats, burning our skin, and blinding our eyes, we were forced to spend all of our personal money on making sure we got home safe and were treated for all of our damages because we could not afford to go to the hospital. This altercation started around 12:30 am and we were finally comfortable enough to rest around 5:00 am, as the sun was coming up. We’re asking for mutual aid because we were forced to spend hundreds of dollars to make sure we got home safe from the Bronx (the majority of us reside in Brooklyn), countless money was spent on water for our eyes and our skin because of how intensely it burned, mimi had to spend money on new contacts due to being maced while they were in her eyes, sade lost their phone, and a few of us cracked our phones and lost many belongings during that altercation, dish soap was bought to wash our skin of the mace, we had to pay for laundry to thoroughly remove the mace from our clothing, the black femmes in the group still have mace in their hair to this day.
We will all be splitting the funds to pay for damages amonst our phones, to repurchase contacts, to refund everyone for all the ubers spent, refund for soap + medical treatments needed for our bodies to heal, pay for the black femmes to get their hair redone, repurchase broken glasses, etc.
ORDER OF EVENTS
- Security checked IDs, bags, and proceeded to pat us down
- After 9 people were groped we began to consult security about the abuse in their practices
- Security agrees that the practices are assault, harassment, and unsafe
- Yahaira attempts to gather those who entered PAPASITOS
- Management is upset that we questioned the GROPING and denies Yahaira access
- Management becomes physical with Yahaira as they try to remove their friends
- Mahogany notices and runs to remove Yahaira from the hold of 3 security guards
- Security proceeds to put their hands on Mahogany
- Sade comes to help Mahogany, before security touches them again.
- Security then threatens to punch Sade
- Yahaira and Mahogany Sade and Jaira begin speaking with management
- Yahaira returns to security to photograph the establishment name and the staff who sexually assaulted us, pushed us, and staff who stood as bystanders to our pleas.
- Yahaira is MACED
- After all running to Yahaira's aid, Mahogany, Ebon, Sade, Nana, Mimi, and Sydney are all MACED in response
- All 11 people scramble to find water while temporarily blinded
- Security begins to make transphobic commentary to Ebon
- Police surround the victims with arrogant snarky commentary and then leave- (no statements were written due to temporary blindness and distrust of the police)
- Paramedics and 3 ambulances arrive and replace where the police previously were
- For 1 more hour the 11 victims are seated on the concrete and flushed of the mace with solution provided by medics
- 4 out of 11 people are temporarily blinded for much longer and enter the ambulance for additional flushing.
- Paramedics instruct the group to shower and wash their hair and discard clothing as the mace is spreading through the contact
- We rush to the closest home to shower and decompress.
Organizer
ebon gore
Organizer
Brooklyn, NY