From Julia Arroyo, YWFC Executive Director
A year after the brutal killing of Banko Brown it still feels raw and fresh.
I have been in youth development work for some time and have had to bury a heartbreaking amount of young people who because of failing, harsh systems could not live out their potential. It is devastating each time and not a loss to be easily forgotten.
At Young Women’s Freedom Center, we remember Banko often. His picture is on our five alters across the state and we gather regularly to share sweet memories. On every one of those occasions, we are left feeling angry and frustrated that very little has been done to prevent more senseless deaths of young trans people.
In fact, right now in California, legislators are working hard to repeal Prop 47, a law that protects people struggling for survival from disproportionate punishment over survival crimes. This hyphenates a nationwide fixation with tougher-on-crime responses instead of addressing the real reasons young people have to meet their needs in these ways.
As an organization, we have worked hard to build real, more compassionate, and humane alternatives to the punitive systems. We have launched Beloved Community Housing which will help young people like Banko be housed safely and provided the support they need to thrive.
Banko’s life was worth so much more than what it was taken for. In the face of adversity, he was resilient and courageous. He fearlessly fought for the rights and dignity of trans people, and left an everlasting mark on YWFC and the movement as a whole. He deserved a world more than what was stolen from him.
Every parent and community member in California has to live with the chilling knowledge that he was shot and killed by a security guard at Walgreens for allegedly stealing $14 worth of candy. And those who think this could never happen to their kids or their neighbors’ have to know that they are wrong.
Poverty (which is worse when you are also Black), the real reason Banko was killed, is knocking on the doors of all of us who are not wealthy while costs of living skyrocket and politicians play chess with our lives.
We all have to be deeply concerned about the killing of Banko Brown. We have to think about it as a testament to where we are as a country and as a state. We have to know this is what San Francisco is like. It is what Walgreens is like.
I hope as you take a moment to remember Banko, you feel angry about this. And take what actions you can to protect poor and Black trans youth.