In 2022, over 38 trans people were murdered, most of them Black or Latina women. The mass shooting in November 2022 that occurred at the gay nightclub Club Q in Colorado brought home for many the reality that hate crimes against queer people are on the rise. In the face of this violence, much of it state-sanctioned, how do we respond individually and as a community? What can we do to process and understand it, and what can we do to prevent it from happening? This print was inspired by a 1992 action by the Lesbian Avengers, a group that came out of AIDS activism and the broader LGBT movement to highlight lesbian political concerns. The group held a three day antiviolence vigil in New York City in response to the 1992 murders of Hattie Mae Cohens and Brian Mock, a black lesbian and a white gay man who were burned to death in their homes by white supremacists after being targeted, harassed, and attacked for months in Salem, Oregon. At the vigil, Lesbian Avengers ate fire and chanted, “The fire will not consume us, we take it and make it our own” in reference to the firebombing. I was particularly struck by a photo I saw taken at the vigil that showed Lesbian Avenger members sitting in protest. In the background of the image is a sign that says “Justice for Marsha” in reference to the 1992 death (and likely murder) of Marsha P. Johnson, which was ruled a suicide by the NYPD, who refused to investigate it further. I can’t help feeling like little has changed in the years between 1992 and now, as white supremacists groups are emboldened and growing, anti-trans legislation is advancing across the country, and violence against trans women continues. I wanted to make the connection between the past and present violence facing our community with this print, which references Hattie Mae Cohens and Brian Mock, Marsha P. Johnson, Cece McDonald, Club Q, and the countless other instances of state-sanctioned violence against queer people. At the same time, I centered the image of the Lesbian Avengers eating fire as a way of remembering that there are ways to process this violence, and respond to it, which feel powerful and transformative. . . . . Kalie McGuirl is a queer visual artist based in Oakland, California. She works in many mediums, including paint, ink, paper, and printmaking. She is obsessed with accessible forms of image reproduction and how this allows images to permeate the world. Drawing inspiration from dreams, interior architecture, and plant life, Kalie’s work explores organic form and the beauty of the natural world. @kaliemcguirl