DINMAG

Sophie Lee’s mother thought she would spend Sunday eating crabs in the park with her daughter.

Instead, Denise Johnson stood on a Baltimore street surrounded by nearly 100 people who had come to mourn her.

Lee, a 27-year-old Black transgender woman with deep connections to Baltimore’s ballroom community, was shot and killed early September 11 in the city’s Barclay neighborhood. Baltimore police found her around 1:15 a.m. near the 2400 block of North Calvert Street. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Baltimore Came Out to Remember Sophie

On September 13, Baltimore Safe Haven organized a candlelight vigil near where Lee was found. Nearly 100 people gathered to remember her and support her family.

Lee had previously received services from Baltimore Safe Haven, a Black- and trans-led organization providing housing, healthcare support and other services to LGBTQ+ people. She was also a friend to members of its staff.

Iya Dammons, Baltimore Safe Haven’s founder and executive director, urged people not to allow the circumstances of Lee’s death to become her entire identity.

Too often, the public first learns the name of a transgender person after something terrible happens to them. Their life becomes reduced to a headline about violence.

Sophie Lee had a story long before September 11.

Sophie Was Baltimore

Lee was born and raised in Baltimore and attended the Baltimore School of the Arts. She loved dancing, music and Baltimore’s Black LGBTQ+ culture.

She also found community in ballroom.

Lee had connections to several ballroom houses, including Gabbanna, Voltaire, Pink Lady and Balenciaga. Her social media included videos of ballroom performances, and she celebrated being named Best New Overall Mother at an event earlier this year.

For people unfamiliar with ballroom culture, “mother” can carry significant meaning. Houses have historically provided chosen family, mentorship, competition and community, particularly for Black and Latino LGBTQ+ people.

Lee was not simply attending balls. She was becoming part of that tradition.

Her mother remembered her as someone who loved to laugh, dance and enjoy life. Friends described her as kind and joyful.

Those are the details worth knowing alongside the police report.

What Police Know About Sophie Lee’s Death

Baltimore police responded to the area around North Calvert and East 24th streets shortly after 1 a.m. on September 11.

Investigators believe Lee was shot nearby before she was found in the intersection. Her purse was later discovered about two blocks away. Police have not publicly said whether robbery played a role.

As of the latest reporting, authorities had not announced an arrest or publicly identified a suspect.

Police also have not established a motive.

Police Have Not Established an Anti-Trans Motive

Lee was a Black transgender woman, and her death understandably created fear within Baltimore’s transgender community.

However, there is currently no public evidence establishing that Sophie was killed because she was transgender.

A Baltimore Police Department spokesperson said investigators had not determined whether Lee’s gender identity had anything to do with the shooting. The homicide investigation remains ongoing.

Remember Sophie Lee

Police still have questions to answer about who killed Sophie and why.

But Baltimore already knows something the investigation does not need to establish. Sophie Lee mattered.

She had a mother who loved her. She had friends who showed up. She had a ballroom family that knew her name. She had a community that filled a Baltimore street with candles after losing her.

The person who killed Sophie ended her life. They do not get to define it.

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