Koko Da Doll, a trans woman who garnered notoriety for her role in the documentary Kokomo City which highlighted transgender Black women, has passed away, reports the New York Times. She was 35.
D. Smith, the director of the acclaimed documentary confirmed that Koko Da Doll, whose name is Rasheeda Williams, was fatally shot in Atlanta last Tuesday.
“I created ‘Kokomo City’ because I wanted to show the fun, humanized, natural side of Black trans women,” Smith’s statement read. “I wanted to create images that didn’t show the trauma or the statistics of murder of transgender lives. I wanted to create something fresh and inspiring. I did that. We did that! But here we are again.”
On Twitter, the Sundance Film Festival shared its sadness at the loss of Koko Da Doll.
“We are saddened to hear about the death of Rasheeda Williams aka Koko Da Doll. We were honored to have her at the Festival this year with Kokomo City, where she reminded Black trans women, "we can do anything, we can be whatever we want to be." It is a tragic loss,” the statement read.
In the aftermath of the tragedy, the Atlanta Police Department stated that it was investigating a series of hate crimes that have recently taken place in the city. Koko Da Doll’s passing marks the third shooting of a trans woman so far this year.
"While these individual incidents are unrelated, we are very aware of the epidemic-level violence Black and Brown transgender women face in America,” the department said in a statement.
Koko Da Doll, Liyah Mitchell, Dominque Silver and Daniella Carters were all featured in Kokomo City. Shot in black and white, the film explored the lives of Black trans sex workers in Atlanta and New York City and the constant threat of violence that they faced every day. The doc won the NEXT Innovator Award and Audience Award: NEXT at Sundance. The documentary was executive produced by Lena Waithe, Stacy Barthe, William Melillo and Rishi Rajani.
According to the Transgender Law Center, there have been 139 incidents of fatal transphobic violence, ranking the U.S. third in the world behind Brazil and Mexico.
We at EBONY extend our prayers and deepest condolences to the family and friends of Koko Da Doll.
