Koko Da Doll: Transgender star of hit Sundance documentary 'Kokomo City' fatally shot in Atlanta
ATLANTA, GEORGIA: Koko Da Doll, one of the trans women featured in the hit Sundance documentary 'Kokomo City' is dead. The film's director says she was fatally shot as a result of 'trans violence'. She was 35 years old. The director of the award-winning documentary, D Smith, shared the tragic news on Friday, April 21, saying Koko, whose real name was Rasheeda Williams, "was shot and killed in Atlanta" on Tuesday night. The director added that Williams' death makes her "the latest victim of violence against Black transgender women," but says she will "inspire generations to come and will never be forgotten."
According to Deadline, Rasheeda, who was a sex worker, had been found with an “apparent gunshot wound” on Martin Luther King Jr Drive in the Southwest part of the city. The Atlanta police department reported Koko was “not alert, conscious or breathing” and was subsequently pronounced dead at the scene, per the report. Rasheeda Williams' funeral expenses are being covered through a GoFundMe page. By noon on Friday, it had reached its $15,000 target, raising over $10,000. Lena Waithe's production firm, Hillman Grad, contributed $2,500 to the cause.
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No suspect has been named
Authorities haven’t named any suspects in the shooting as of yet. “Homicide investigators responded to the scene and are working to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident,” police wrote in the statement according to The New York Post. “The investigation continues,” it further reads.
The Atlanta Police Department(APD) is actively investigating three violent crimes involving transgender women 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. pic.twitter.com/GOH6gOZCa7
— Atlanta Police Department (@Atlanta_Police) April 20, 2023
'Kokomo City' won 2 awards
'Kokomo City' took home 2 awards at this year's Sundance Film Festival. The film followed the lives of Koko and three other African-American trans sex workers in Atlanta and New York City, shedding light on the under-explored topic of violence and discrimination faced by trans people in the black community. Williams thanked D Smith for providing her a platform to tell her story after the film's premiere. “I will be the reason there’s more opportunities and doors opening for transgender girls,” the sex worker wrote on Instagram in January. “What you’ve done here for me is going to save a lot of lives,” she added.
Sundance also paid respects
The Sundance Film Festival also offered their condolences. “We are saddened to hear about the death of Rasheeda Williams aka Koko Da Doll,” they wrote on Twitter, adding, "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.”
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. pic.twitter.com/Ca57LBnk8V
— SundanceFilmFestival (@sundancefest) April 20, 2023
Daniella Carter paid tribute to Williams
Fellow 'Kokomo City' star Daniella Carter paid tribute to Williams on Instagram, writing, “Never thought I’d lose you, but here I am standing alone without you by my side we’re sisters for life we promised, but now you’re gone I don’t know what to do without you I’m going crazy, I’m trying to hold on to keep strong…”