26 Facts About CeCe McDonald

CeCe McDonald is an American trans woman and LGBTQ activist who came to national attention in June 2012 after pleading guilty to second-degree manslaughter and being sentenced to 41 months.

Just before the start of the trial, CeCe McDonald took a plea bargain rather than risk a possible 20-year term.

Transgender activist Laverne Cox, star of Orange Is the New Black which includes story lines about trans women of color and hate crimes, stated that CeCe McDonald is the image she has of her OITNB character, Sophia Burset, and that she plays Burset as an homage to CeCe McDonald.

CeCe McDonald was awarded the Bayard Rustin Civil Rights Award by the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club in August 2014.

CeCe McDonald was born in 26 May 1989, is originally from South Chicago, and studied fashion at Minneapolis Community and Technical College.

CeCe McDonald claimed that Schmitz and the others had shouted racist and transphobic slurs, while Thoreson, in interviews with police, characterized the remarks as derogatory and sarcastic.

CeCe McDonald testified that she and her friends tried to walk away, but that Flaherty started a fight: CeCe McDonald was smashed in the face with an alcohol glass, causing a cut that required 11 stitches.

CeCe McDonald confirmed in court that Flaherty had said "I can take on all of you bitches"; Thoreson recalled that at this point Flaherty threw the first punch.

David Crandell, Flaherty's boyfriend, then stepped out of the bar to find multiple members of CeCe McDonald's group attacking Flaherty and tried to pull them away from her.

CeCe McDonald's defense characterized this move as CeCe McDonald having "attempted to leave the scene, attempted to get out of harm's way", and added that she was followed by Schmitz.

CeCe McDonald told police that Schmitz had charged and ran into the scissors.

CeCe McDonald's case was taken up by Hersch Izek of the Legal Rights Center, a nonprofit organization offering help with legal representation.

CeCe McDonald stepped forward to thrust a weapon into a person that had not assaulted her.

CeCe McDonald would give the shirt off his back to help people.

Cam Gordon, a member of the Minneapolis City Council, announced his support for CeCe McDonald and called the incident "another example [of] transgender women of color being targeted for hate- and bias-related violence", and Susan Allen, a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives, called on Freeman to consider the "extenuating circumstances" of CeCe McDonald's case.

CeCe McDonald received the support of transgender activist and actress Laverne Cox, who stars in the television series Orange Is the New Black.

CeCe McDonald's supporters held dance parties and rallies outside the Hennepin County jail in her honor, and over 18,000 people signed a Change.

CeCe McDonald said she accepted the plea deal for her loved ones: instead of risking decades in prison, the deal was expected to result in her being freed in a fraction of the time.

The state's gender assessment concluded that CeCe McDonald would be held in a men's facility.

CeCe McDonald's case was referred to the Washington County Attorney's Office in order to avoid a conflict of interest.

CeCe McDonald was released on January 13,2014, after serving 19 months, and remained under the supervision of the Minnesota Department of Corrections through her 41-month sentence.

CeCe McDonald gave her first televised interview six days later on Melissa Harris-Perry on MSNBC.

In 2014, CeCe McDonald was profiled by Rolling Stone and included as part of the Advocate's annual "40 Under 40" list.

In 2016, CeCe McDonald teamed up with gender non-conforming activist and prison abolitionist Joshua Allen for a Black Excellence Tour.

The film is told through an interview with CeCe McDonald conducted by Cox, and deals with the events in 2011, CeCe McDonald's imprisonment and violence experienced by trans women of color.

FREE CeCe McDonald was the kick-off film at the 2016 San Francisco Transgender Film Festival, the world's first and longest-running transgender film festival.