In May 2020, a young transgender woman of color named Nina Pop was stabbed to death in her own Missouri apartment.

[5] She lived 145 miles south of St. Louis in Sikeston, Missouri, a small town of 16,000 people.

[9][14] Sikeston Department of Public Safety and a local TV network initially misgendered Pop during their investigation and reporting, respectively.

[15][16] The Okra Project, a grassroots organization initially focused on addressing food insecurity in the black transgender community, dedicated $15,000 to form the Nina Pop Mental Health Recovery Fund and the Tony McDade Mental Health Recovery Fund in to raise money for free one-time mental health therapy sessions for black transgender individuals.

[17][18][19] On June 2, 2020, thousands of people came together for a vigil and protest at the Stonewall Inn in New York City to honor the lives of Nina Pop and Tony McDade and protest police violence and transphobic violence against the black transgender community.