Banko Brown Should Still Be With Us
#165
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This edition:
Opinion Essay
Alabama Anti-LGBTQ Bills & Action Steps 2023
Opinion Essay
The last couple of weeks felt particularly hard following the murders of Banko Brown here in San Francisco and Jordan Neely in New York City. Plenty has been said about Neely and the vigilante former marine who killed him – this Defector article remains the best I’ve read – so I’m going to focus on Banko, the 24-year Black trans man shot to death on Market Street by a Walgreens security guard over $14 of candy.
Banko was an active member of San Francisco’s LGBTQ+ community, interning at the Young Women’s Freedom Center to help connect other trans youth and young women with secure housing, medical services, and needed support. He was unhoused himself, often sleeping on trains, in doorways, and even at YWFC’s office when necessary. Banko tried shelters, added himself to waitlists, and applied for permanent supportive housing but nothing came his way. When he did get into a shelter, he suffered gendered violence that trans people are all too familiar with (which contributes to why so many trans people experience homelessness).
Even with San Francisco’s stated goal of ending trans homelessness by 2027 – there was no relief in sight. Those who knew him said his exhaustion was palpable and draining him more each day. Still, he showed up for his community.
Unfortunately, we failed him in return.
In a city like San Francisco, where the Queer community is so financially and politically powerful – let alone the entirety of the resources at the City’s disposal – there is little excuse for Banko’s situation to be so common. However, the class divide between the different facets of our community is palpable. While our trans brothers and sisters struggle just to survive on our streets and across the country, the gays of the Castro have been arguing about the seats in a 100-year-old movie palace.
The divide feels more like a chasm.
That said, our community has rallied together following his death as District Attorney Brooke Jenkins and SFPD have abysmally handled his case. The police misgendered Banko in their initial statement, announcing the security guard killed a woman during an alleged shoplifting attempt, and the Medical Examiner released his birth name.
That didn’t stop the incorrect information from spreading across the internet. Nor did the ultimate correction of that misinformation give San Francisco’s online commentariat pause that there may be more to the story. Of course, they should have learned this lesson; rumors around rampant crime and homelessness leading to the death of Cash App co-founder Bob Lee were debunked when one of his colleagues in tech was arrested and charged with his murder. And a former San Francisco fire commissioner who made headlines after he was beaten with a pipe ended up being suspected of terrorizing homeless people with bear spray.
By the following Monday, mere days later, the DA pronounced that the guard acted in self-defense and she was not pressing charges. As more details became known – particularly witness reports contradicting the guard’s recollection of events – the backlash was swift.
Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin called on the DA to revisit her decision in light of new evidence and District 10 Supervisor Shamann Walton, the City’s only Black supervisor, sent a Letter of Inquiry to the DA asking that video footage showing circumstances around Brown’s shooting be released. (Disclaimer: Supervisor Walton is my district supervisor.). DA Jenkins, who is also Black, responded in an unusually terse letter claiming that Walton’s letter was “wholly inappropriate and dangerous to the interests of justice and a fair criminal justice system for all people.”
It must be noted that DA Jenkins is completely full of shit. She is notoriously incompetent and only has the job because she agreed to be Mayor Breed’s puppet after former DA Chesa Boudin was recalled. But, you don’t have to take my word for it – Supervisor Walton confirmed he did nothing “inappropriate and dangerous” with the City Attorney.
As usual, Jenkins made a mess of this situation all by herself and needs a scapegoat.
Last week, the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to approve a resolution urging District Attorney Brooke Jenkins to “release police reports, witness accounts, and video information.” SF’s State Senator Scott Wiener initially stated his confidence in Jenkins and SFPD but, within a week, he publicly called for the DA to release the tapes and joined a community protest march down Market Street the Sunday before the Board’s vote on Tuesday.
To zoom out for a second, it’s important to understand how SF’s factions work. To sum it up quickly – because it could easily be an entire post itself – the City has two factions: the Moderates (“Mods”) and the Progressives (“Progs”). Think about the divides in the national Democratic Party and it more or less lines up. Granted, Mods are more like liberal Republicans and Progs are run-of-the-mill Democrats rather than actual AOC or Bernie-esque progressives, but like I said, that’s for another time.
Now, Jenkins is a Mod. She was appointed by Mayor Breed, who is also a Mod (as all SF mayors have been for decades despite their claims Progs “run the City”…but I digress). State Senator Wiener is a Mod. Six of the 11 supervisors are Mods.
Even with that factional alignment, every prominent politician other than Mayor Breed has broken with the DA and called for her to release the tape(s). For what it’s worth, Mayor Breed hadn’t commented on Banko’s case until last Friday, May 12 and she’s standing by Jenkins/SFPD.
Under that pressure, the DA reversed her initial decision and has yet to decide if she’ll press charges. I don’t have any faith in Jenkins but, from what I’ve heard through the rumor mill, the video evidence doesn’t give her much of a choice.
If our community could rally like this without the catalyst of tragedy, Banko would’ve never found himself in the situation he did. Another young trans person wouldn’t have been taken from us and our community wouldn’t have lost such a beautiful soul. Worse still, what happened to Banko is not unique.
However, to see the LGBTQ+ community wield our collective power to push back on reactionary lies has been empowering. Banko’s life was not taken in a vacuum. His murder and the failures of justice following his death were just the latest in a string of incidents powers that be attempted to force into a preordained narrative only to watch it crumble under the slightest sliver of scrutiny. In that light, there is some hope that those driven by malice and incompetence can be defeated.
Rest in power, Banko. May your memory be a blessing.
Please consider donating to Banko’s family’s support fund.
We are asking you to please donate to support Banko's family provide a service that honors his life and legacy and cover transportation and other costs during this devastating and tragic time. Please hold them in love and support and share.
Stay safe, beautiful people.
As always, thanks for reading. (And, don’t forget to “like” this post!)
Kyle (@kgborland)
PS – Check out these great reads from the past few weeks:
41% of surveyed LGBTQ+ youth considered suicide in the past year (PBS NewsHour)
A WaPo Poll Found That Significant Majorities Support Pro-Trans Policies, But Reported The Exact Opposite (The Present Age)
Constitutional Lawyers Mobilize Against Trans Care Bans Nationwide: 9 States Now Sued (Erin in the Morning)
Drag Isn’t Dead in Tennessee (them)
Feeling Bad About Your Body? Many Gay Men Point to Grindr (Rolling Stone)
God Loves You Gay Gay Gay (Life is a Sacred Text)
How Republicans Became the Party of Child Labor and Child Marriage (The New Republic)
How Russia’s War Against Ukraine Is Advancing LGBTQ Rights (Politico)
Little Richard and the Truth About Rock and Roll’s Queer Origins (The Atlantic)
Polish Activists Win Cases Against ‘LGBT-Free Zones’ (Human Rights Watch)
Queer Community in the South Is Worth Fighting For (Teen Vogue)
Queer Villains Are Vital to Understanding Queer History (Electric Lit)
Republicans’ Anti-Trans Assault Has an Achilles Heel (The New Republic)
Requiem for a drag queen (News is Out)
The US has a rich drag history. Here's why the art form will likely outlast attempts to restrict it (CNN)
Uganda’s parliament passes mostly unchanged anti-LGBTQ bill (BBC)
UK is a hostile environment for LGBTQ+ journalists, study suggests (The Guardian)
Washington Post’s pro-trans series:
When a ‘Queer’ Party Is Overrun By Straight People (VICE)
‘Why you talking to a bum?’ (Chicago Reader)
Alabama Anti-LGBTQ Bills & Action Steps 2023
