William C. Anderson wrote a short essay about CeCe McDonald for the No Selves to Defend anthology which I share below.

by Micah Bazant

Chrishaun “CeCe” McDonald is a trans woman whose bravery in the face of injustice has changed lives and perceptions in the United States. On the night of June 5, 2011, CeCe was out with friends when she was attacked. Three people began harassing her and her friends outside a bar by deriding them with racist and transphobic slurs, before attacking them physically.

CeCe fought for her life; when the dust settled one of her attackers lay dead. CeCe survived the attack, but was arrested by the police. After receiving 11 stitches to her cheek, she was interrogated without counsel and placed in solitary confinement. CeCe was charged with second-degree murder for defending herself. Rather than face trial by a jury that would not likely sympathize with her, she accepted a plea deal to the lesser charge of second-degree manslaughter.

Although she’s a woman, CeCe was sentenced to 41 months in a men’s prison facility. Despite this blatant act of degradation and inhumanity, CeCe insisted that her supporters not fight for a transfer to a women’s institution. She was released after serving 19 months in prison and explained why she gave this instruction to her supporters: “Prisons aren’t safe for anyone, and that’s the key issue.” In a February 19 2014 interview on Democracy Now, CeCe elaborated on her rationale for declining to fight to be placed in a women’s prison:

“Yeah, and my reasoning behind that was because after I did some educating myself on the prison-industrial complex and the history behind African Americans in incarceration, I felt like sending me to any prison wouldn’t solve my issue. Men’s prisons, women’s prisons, they’re prisons, and they’re not good. “

CeCe’s survival is an inspiration for people around the world. Her case highlights the discrimination, bigotry, and violence hurled against trans people every day in our country—coupled with racism.

Now that CeCe is free, she has been speaking out, telling her story and continuing to fight for her community. She is an exemplary model of perseverance and survival in the face of oppression. As CeCe reminds us, “We need to celebrate our lives. We need to celebrate being human.”

Today, I wanted to share a terrific conversation between Cece, Reina Gossett, and Dean Spade that was just posted. I encourage everyone to watch it.

“I Use My Love to Guide Me”: Surviving and Thriving in the Face of Impossible Situations from BCRW Videos on Vimeo.