Community mourns as trans woman dies in Alabama jail
Kalena “Peaches” Croskey (Facebook/Daroneshia Duncan-Boyd)
The transgender community in Birmingham, Alabama, is mourning Kalena “Peaches” Croskey, a 32-year-old Black trans woman who died while being held in the city jail.
Croskey was found unresponsive during a routine check at Birmingham City Jail on Thursday 11 June and could not be resuscitated, according to information from the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office cited by local NBC affiliate WVTM.
No cause of death has been released, and the death is under investigation by the Birmingham Police Department. She had been held since 21 April on charges including disorderly conduct, public intoxication and third-degree assault.
The nonprofit TAKE Resource Center, which had supported Croskey for years, paid tribute to her this week as “more than a community member.”
“She was family,” they wrote. “She brought light, laughter, and joy into every space she entered.” They recalled her singing Beyoncé, voguing and creating “glamorous makeup looks”, adding: “Peaches found ways to experience joy and share it with those around her.”
The group framed her death as a systemic failure. “This loss is not accidental. It is a tragic reminder of the failures within the carceral system,” they wrote, citing a “lack of adequate mental health resources, combined with negligence and systemic shortcomings”.
TAKE Resource Center is planning a memorial and balloon release for Croskey at its Juneteenth event on 20 June. “Rest peacefully, Peaches,” they wrote. “Your life mattered, your presence was felt, and your memory will forever remain with us.”
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