“We feel your love and thank you for your support.”
They did not confirm the cause of Velvet’s death. A GoFundMe has since been made to cover funeral costs as well used to care for her family and cover outstanding debts.
“Mistress Velvet is an icon,” Kara Rodriguez wrote in the crowdfund. “Their life as an African feminist and revolutionary communist brings us closer to their fierce vision of [sex work] and trans liberation.
“Velvet, your presence in this world makes us better. Thank you for showing up unapologetically. We are all at a loss.”
Her spirited activism, from heading a sex workers activist campaign to her work with the Chicago Metropolitan Battered Women’s Network, was a driving force for much of her life as she sought to uplift those around her.
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