“A lot of time people don’t know the circumstances that come along with trans women in prison,” CeCe McDonald told The Advocate, an online publication, last year. McDonald will share her experiences on mass incarceration, racism, and transgender liberation at Cal State San Bernardino on Thursday, Nov. 19.
The event, “CeCe McDonald: Black Trans Lives Matter,” will be held in the Santos Manuel Student Union Theater, room 107, from noon- 2 p.m. Sponsored by the Pride Center, the public is invited to attend the free discussion, which will include a question and answer segment. Daily parking is $6 per vehicle.
Since surviving a hate crime and prison sentence, McDonald has focused on fighting for the freedom and dignity of all transgender women who have been slain or become victims of the criminal justice system.
In 2011, McDonald was verbally attacked while walking to a grocery store with a group of friends in Minneapolis. It resulted in a physical altercation that left McDonald injured and her attacker, Dean Schmitz, dead. She was later arrested as the aggressor and accepted a plea deal for an accidental stabbing death charge. The court refused to accept the action was in self-defense and sentenced her to a 41-month sentence in a men’s prison.
Currently, she is working on a forthcoming documentary with “Orange is the New Black” actress Laverne Cox on her case, “Free CeCe.” This documentary will share her story and showcase the violence affecting many trans women of color.
Cox shared her support and involvement with the project, stating, 'CeCe’s case represents a long list of instances of violence against transgender women who are disproportionately trans women of color.”
For more information about the event, contact Jorge Rivera at (909) 537-5963 or by email at riveraj@coyote.csusb.edu.
Set in the foothills of the beautiful San Bernardino Mountains, CSUSB is a preeminent center of intellectual and cultural activity in inland Southern California. Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2015, CSUSB serves more than 20,000 students each year and graduates about 4,000 students annually.
For more information about Cal State San Bernardino, contact the university’s Office of Strategic Communication at (909) 537-5007 and visit news.csusb.edu.