While the nation’s attention was centered around the presidential election, the Human Rights Campaign reported on Tuesday that Angel Unique, a 25-year old Black transgender woman, was shot and killed in Memphis, Tennessee. The news of Angel’s passing marks the 34th violent killing of a trans person this year, making 2020 the year with most recorded murders of trans and gender-non-conforming people since HRC began tracking them in 2013.
Still, it is imperative to celebrate Angel’s short life and remember her as much more than a statistic.
Angel Unique was a licensed cosmetologist living in Jackson, Tennessee where she graduated from Milan High School less than 8 years ago. Her best friend, Takia Weddle, described Angel as, “very funny, very nice to everybody she met.”
On October 25, Angel called Weddle at 10 p.m. to tell her she would be arriving in Memphis soon and would call Weddle again once she did. However, Weddle never heard back from her friend. Angel’s body was found at Motel 6 in Memphis’ Whitehaven neighborhood. Although her murderer has not been found, Weddle believes the reason for Angel’s passing was “just because she was the way she was.” She admitted to struggling with the news of her friends’ passing.
“I still can’t believe it, really, because that was the only person I was with every single day,” Weddle said. “I talked to my best friend more than I talked to my boyfriend.”
Angel’s loved ones have set up a GoFundMe to cover her burial expenses. In it, she is remembered as “a carefree, caring, determined, funny, smart and giving woman.”
