Last Saturday, a 28-year old Black gay man, O’Shae Sibley was murdered at a gas station in Brooklyn. He was voguing with his friends to Beyonce’s Renaissance album when a group confronted them about their dancing and sexuality. Things escalated and a 17-year-old boy stabbed Sibley, and he was later pronounced dead at the hospital. The suspect has recently turned himself in.
TNYA would like to extend our deepest condolences to the Sibley family, his friends, the dance community, the ballroom community, and the Black queer community. Safe spaces for queer people should not end after a ball, a pride party, or a lap swim. The city belongs to us as much as anyone else and we deserve the freedom to express ourselves fully on any corner in the five boroughs. Vogueing is not a crime.
