‘We’re going to miss us some Amber.’ KC friends gather to honor slain transgender woman
.jpg "Close friends of Amber Minor, 40, who was found dead on Christmas Eve morning, gathered in Kansas City Saturday evening to remember her.")
More than a month after Amber Minor was found dead, her friends paid tribute Saturday night and called for an end to violence against transgender women in Kansas City.
A few shared stories of Minor, 40, and her strength and desire for more in life. They talked about growing up with her as she transitioned and laughed at “that mouth of hers” that they say they won’t forget.
“We’re going to miss us some Amber,” someone in the crowd yelled out.
Minor was “fun-loving, loud, didn’t take no mess and loved to dress,” friend Korea Kelly said before the event began inside BlaqOut, a midtown nonprofit working to provide health care access and create a safe place for Kansas City’s Black LGBTQ+ community. “If we were going out, she wanted to be dolled up.”
On the morning of Christmas Eve, officers were dispatched to the 9800 block of 77th Terrace in Raytown on a report of a body lying in a driveway. Just after 8:30 a.m., officers found a victim who had suffered a gunshot wound.
In the days since Minor’s body was found and later identified, police have said little about her death and their investigation. Those who knew her say they hope authorities are doing everything they can to find out what happened.
As friends shared their feelings and stories, a poster board photo of Minor rested near a bouquet of flowers and roses in two shades of pink — her favorite color.
“We want to let her know that we’ve been her sister since we were kids,” Kelly said. “And as adults we’re still here to have your back — even in death.”
Nyla Foster, executive director of Trans Women of Color Collective, said she and others wanted to honor their friend and “do it in a way that truly does it from community members like her.”
“We just wanted to lead this event with restoration, healing and intention,” said Foster, who knew Minor for 20 years. “Amber had dreams just like us. Unfortunately, her dream was cut short.
“She was human, she was a sister, she was a daughter. She had desires, just like you and I. And I feel like it’s really important to humanize who she was, not objectify her and not objectify her story and use it as a trans-awareness piece, because that’s not what that is.”
Her story, Foster said, “is not just this death.”
Minor was “original and funny and bright,” Foster said. And she had “a quiet strength about herself” that empowered her.
Kris Wade is the executive director of the Justice Project of Kansas City, a nonprofit human rights organization that provides criminal justice and social systems advocacy for women. Wade worked to help Minor and had known her for two decades.
“Amber was super strong and persistent,” Wade told those in attendance. “And (she) believed things could be better.”
Among those who gathered Saturday night were family members of Aerrion Burnett — a transgender woman and close friend of Minor’s who was found dead in September 2020.
“We’ve gone three years without one death, and then bam, it hits us again,” Kelly told the crowd. “… It is a shock for us all, a trauma for us all. There’s no safety here.
“We are basically looking out for ourselves.”
Beyond remembering and honoring Minor, organizers want to promote the advocacy of Black transgender women in general.
“When we talk about storytelling and connection, we have to really be intentional with supporting Black trans women while they’re alive, not just when they pass away, and they become a story,” said Foster. “Let’s celebrate folks while they’re alive. Let’s give them their flowers when they can still smell them.”
This story was originally published January 28, 2024 at 9:32 AM.
