Vigil For Black Trans Man Killed In NY To Be Held At St. Pete Bar

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — A Thursday night vigil at Enigma in St. Petersburg will honor the life of Sam Nordquist, a 24-year-old transgender man who was tortured and killed.

Nordquist, a Minnesota man who was killed by multiple people in upstate New York and whose body was left in a field, is one of several individuals being remembered at the event, which runs from 7 to 9 p.m., Claire Elisan, founder of Project No Labels, which is organizing the event, told Patch.

His death was “one of the most violent murders to happen in the LGBTQ+ community since Matthew Shepard, and specifically for the Black trans community,” she said.

Also being remembered at the vigil are Muhsin Hendricks, an openly gay South African imam and LGBTQ+ activist who was recently murdered, and Tahiry Broom, a transgender woman killed in Michigan, Elisan said.

The event will also honor Elisa Rae Shupe, a nonbinary who took her own life in January, according to Elisan. Her body was found wrapped in a trans flag and she left a poem behind about President Donald Trump’s administration.

“It’s been one thing after another and it’s never been not one thing after another when it comes to Black trans individuals being targeted,” Elisan said. “They’re the most murdered and the most violent crimes are against Black trans women.”

She expects 100 to 150 people to attend Thursday night’s vigil.