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What Happened to Poe Black, a 21-year-old Trans Man Killed in Slab City, California?
The body of 21-year-old Poe Black was discovered in the Sonoma Desert on May 11, 2021 near Slab City in Niland, California. Also known as Oliver Jackson, Poe was a resident of Slab City, an unincorporated collection of camps frequently occupied by homeless folks and others who purposefully chose to live outside of conventional communities.
Originally from Nashville, Tenneesse, Poe identified as “mixed Indigenous” according to friends and was part of the Wyandotte Nation according to sources. It is undetermined if Poe had enrolled in the tribe, but his friends explain he was active in Indigenous activism and committed to Native issues. Poe also identified as transmasculine and a trans man. The official documents from the Sheriff’s Department describe him as nonbinary and white.
There have been no arrests or suspects identified that we know of. There has also been no media coverage at all by Southern California media. Nothing which is stunning for such a horrific crime, both for Poe’s sake and for the safety of the other residents of the camps. I’ve been writing these memorial posts since 2013 and I’ve never found zero coverage before — poor coverage, misgendering, deadnaming, yes. But never just no mention of a brutal crime like this. I’ve been struggling to understand. And it…
