CeCe McDonald

CeCe McDonald
CeCe McDonald at the SF LGBT Center.
Born (1989-05-26) May 26, 1989 (age 35)[1]
Chicago[1]
NationalityAmerican
Known forLGBTQ activism

CeCe McDonald (/ˌsiːˈsiː/; born May 26, 1989) is an African American trans woman and LGBTQ activist.[2][3][4] She came to national attention in June 2012 for accepting a plea bargain of 41 months for second-degree manslaughter of a man she stabbed after McDonald and her friends were assaulted in Minneapolis outside a bar near closing time.[5][6][7][8] The attack, a year prior, was widely seen as racist and transphobic, and became physical when McDonald was struck in the face by the man's friend with "an alcoholic drink" glass causing a bleeding gash that needed stitches.[9]

According to Mother Jones, when McDonald was attempting to escape the bar, the man came after her. McDonald "took a pair of scissors out of her purse and turned around to face [him]; he was stabbed in the chest and died from the wound."[10] McDonald said she saw how her case was progressing so took the plea bargain rather than face trial and risk a possible 20-year term.[11]: 6  According to the Bay Area Reporter her conviction "sparked outrage, and was viewed by many as an act of transphobia and racism against a woman who defended herself."[12] Although a woman, McDonald was housed in two men's prisons.[13] An online petition "led to the state department of corrections administering the full regimen of hormones she needed."[13]

Her story got international attention including in May 2013 when an Ebony.com article about the case won the GLAAD Media Award for "Outstanding Digital Journalism Article". She also received support from transgender activist and actress Laverne Cox, star of Orange Is the New Black, which includes story lines about trans women of color and hate crimes.[3][14] Cox says McDonald is the image she has of her OITNB character, Sophia Burset, and that she plays Burset as an homage to McDonald.[15] Cox also identifies with her experiences, "So many times I've ... been harassed, any of them could have escalated ... I very easily could be CeCe."[15]

McDonald was released in January 2014 after serving 19 months. She was profiled in Rolling Stone among other publications and included as part of Advocate's annual "40 Under 40" list.[16][17] FREE CeCe, a documentary about McDonald's experiences told through interviews by Laverne Cox, started production in December 2013.[18] The film centers on the attack on McDonald and her friends including the stabbing, her imprisonment, and violence experienced by trans women of color.[19] In August 2014 she was awarded the Bayard Rustin Civil Rights Award by the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club.[12]

  1. ^ a b "CeCe McDonald". LGBT History Month. Archived from the original on November 12, 2016. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference ai was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference abc was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Avery, Dan (June 4, 2012). "Trans Woman "CeCe" McDonald Sentenced To 41 Months For Slaying Attacker". Queerty. Archived from the original on June 7, 2012. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
  5. ^ Ennis, Dawn (28 November 2014). "Laverne Cox Rocks The View". The Advocate. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
  6. ^ Signorile, Michelangelo (22 February 2014). "CeCe McDonald, Transgender Activist, Recalls Hate Attack, Manslaughter Case". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on 5 December 2014. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
  7. ^ Jain, Ankit. "Uncommon Interview: CeCe McDonald". Chicago Maroon. Archived from the original on 5 December 2014. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
  8. ^ Goldman, Russell. "Transgender Activist CeCe McDonald Released from Prison". ABC News. Archived from the original on 7 December 2014. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
  9. ^ Solomon, Akiba (4 May 2012). "CeCe McDonald: Attacked for Her Identity, Incarcerated for Surviving". Ebony. Archived from the original on 24 November 2014. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
  10. ^ Pasulka, Nicole. "The Case of CeCe McDonald: Murder—or Self-Defense Against a Hate Crime?". Mother Jones. Archived from the original on 18 November 2014. Retrieved 29 November 2014. was walking with four friends past Schooner Tavern in Minneapolis. A group of at least four white people outside the bar began harassing McDonald and her friends, calling the group, all of whom were African American, "niggers" and "faggots." One of the men in the group, who would later be identified as Dean Schmitz, said "look at that boy dressed like a girl tucking her dick in." As McDonald and her friends tried to walk away, Schmitz's ex-girlfriend Molly Flaherty hit McDonald in the face with a glass of alcohol and sliced open her cheek, causing an injury that would later require stitches. The groups began fighting, and when McDonald attempted to leave the scene, Schmitz followed. McDonald took a pair of scissors out of her purse and turned around to face Schmitz; he was stabbed in the chest and died from the wound.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference cp2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ a b Nahmod, David-Elijah. "Tears, cheers for McDonald at Milk club dinner". Bay Area Reporter. Archived from the original on 19 August 2014. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
  13. ^ a b Goldman, Russell. "Transgender Activist CeCe McDonald Released from Prison". ABC News. Archived from the original on 7 December 2014. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  14. ^ Townsend, Megan (2013-05-14). "Laverne Cox, Dr. Kortney Ryan Ziegler present to Marc Lamont Hill, Ebony.com at #GLAADAwards". GLAAD. Archived from the original on 2014-01-15. Retrieved 2014-01-13. Dr. Marc Lamont Hill was presented with the award for Outstanding Digital Journalism Article…for Hill's Ebony.com piece "Why Aren't We Fighting for CeCe McDonald?" at the 24th Annual GLAAD Media Awards.
  15. ^ a b Erdely, Sabrina Rubin (30 July 2014). "The Transgender Crucible". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 21 October 2017. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  16. ^ Rubin Erdely, Sabrina (July 30, 2014). "The Transgender Crucible". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 21, 2017. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
  17. ^ Molloy, Parker Marie (July 30, 2014). "Going to Prison Made CeCe MdDonald Want to Fix Them". Advocate. Archived from the original on July 31, 2014. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
  18. ^ Logsdon-Breakstone, Savannah (December 16, 2013). "Laverne Cox and Jac Gares on Their New Documentary, FREE CeCe!". Persephone Magazine. Archived from the original on December 27, 2013. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
  19. ^ Fabian, Renee (December 17, 2013). "'FREE CECE' - Laverne Cox's documentary to free CeCe McDonald". GLAAD. Archived from the original on December 27, 2013. Retrieved December 26, 2013.