by Lane Rozin, the University Daily Kansan – February 23, 2024

After news spread of Nex Benedict (Choctaw) — an Indigenous nonbinary 16-year-old in Owasso, Oklahoma, who was beaten in a school bathroom and who died a day later on Feb. 8 — the Trans Lawrence Coalition (TLC) will host a vigil on Feb. 25 to honor Nex and other transgender lives that have been lost. 

Attendees can meet at South Park at 5 p.m., where they will walk down Massachusetts St. to Art Love Collective, where the vigil will begin at 6:30 p.m. Those who are unable to participate in the walk are encouraged to meet at Art Love Collective.

“This vigil is here to talk about Nex, but also stories like Amber Minor’s, Brianna Higgins and Brianna Ghey,” TLC member Isaac Johnson said. “It’s to acknowledge an even longer history of violence against Indigenous people, trans people here in the United States.”

TLC is collaborating with Art Love Collective member Monique Mercurio, an Indigenous two-spirited artist in Lawrence. Two-spirited refers to Native people in their communities who fulfill a traditional third-gender ceremonial and social role in their cultures. 

“It’s so difficult for our communities to be hit so hard back to back in this way,” Mercurio said. “It’s the repetitive loss of our children over decades and decades. It gets harder. I think that this is different because Nex is a part of two communities. “

Johnson and Mercurio began putting together the event on Feb. 22 after members in the community vocalized their interest in a vigil taking place to commemorate Nex’s death.

“Being a part of the Trans Lawrence Coalition, and one thing with organizing, I think is you respond to what the community is asking for,” Johnson said. “After seeing so many people say they wanted a vigil, I knew I had to do something.”

With a reported 32 deaths of transgender and gender nonconforming individuals in 2023, Johnson discussed the impact of hate crimes against trans individuals. 

“So many trans people get murdered and no one really cares, but people are paying attention to this one,” Johnson said. “I think because it’s such a terrible clash of things. It’s a trans student in the bathroom they’re supposed to be in according to the law. The law meant to allegedly protect cis women and yet, three cis girls murdered a trans student in the bathroom. It’s terrible.”

Mercurio said the vigil serves as a way to enact change within Lawrence. 

“I want a rally. I want to challenge the city,” Mercurio said. “I think we should have some kind of action. This is not for nothing.”

Johnson said that they hope the vigil impacts the Lawrence community and beyond. 

“My hope is that it’s going to make a statement,” Johnson said. “It’s going to demonstrate something and I hope that it gets to a point where even Nex’s family can see that there’s a group of people in Kansas, Indigenous people and allies, who care and acknowledge and want to remember Nex.”

More information about the event is available on TLC’s Facebook event or Instagram.