December 14, 2022 • 10 mins
On today's menu: the murder of Ali "Luscious" Forney and how a crime against a member of the LGBTQ+ community relates to Keyla and her chosen family.
Created and hosted by Keyla Young and executive produced by Daniel Fastenau-Jones and Schuyler Fastenau-Jones. Editing and sound design by Schuyler Fastenau-Jones. Theme music by Tracy Zales.
Follow us on:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cocktail_ballerina/
Created and hosted by Keyla Young and executive produced by Daniel Fastenau-Jones and Schuyler Fastenau-Jones. Editing and sound design by Schuyler Fastenau-Jones. Theme music by Tracy Zales.
Follow us on:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cocktail_ballerina/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hey, what up, though,This is Keila your cocktail Ballerina, and
I'm here to bring you the unheard, uncensored, and unrepresented story of the
lifestyle of a sex worker. Heywhat up, y'all. It's Keila your
(00:26):
cocktail Ballerina, and I'm back withanother story about a sex worker who was
working for the community, senselessly murderedin their own neighborhood. Ali has shown
Forney aka Lushes. Luscious was bornin April twelfth, nineteen seventy five,
(00:47):
in Charlotte, North Carolina, butraised in Brooklyn by their single mother.
Luscious being black, gay, andgender nonconforming certainly ain't easy now, But
just imagine back in the seventies,eighties and the nineties. Back in the
day, you know, black peopledidn't even go to therapy. So you're
(01:08):
trans, you're what? Please?As some woman would say, no,
you're my son. They still dothat, which is offensive. When Ali
was just thirteen, Ali took partin sex work for the first time,
earning a mere forty bucks. Imean, I've been thirteen before, and
I used to babysit and I earnedtwenty five dollars and I thought, oh,
(01:32):
I got money for the whole week, so I can just imagine where
Ali is coming from. To Ali, the forty bucks made them feel like
the richest person in the world.So it was around the same time the
forties turned their back on their childand Ali went to live in a group
home. They bounced around from familyto family, so it's no wonder they
(01:55):
ran away to live on the streetthinking that was easier, which has a
lot in the foster care system.You know, some people put these foster
kids in their home either to justcollect a check or some of them are
even abusers. Now I'm not sayingthat happens to every foster family, but
that is a lot that is verycommon. So now here you got Ali,
(02:19):
He's going from home to home andhe's like, forget it, I'm
gonna just hustle. I'm gonna workon the street. I'm gonna continue doing
my thing, and I want todress in women's clothing. Unfortunately, Ali
got addicted to crack cocaine, notbecause it was something cool to do,
but because it ease the pain,the fear, and the degradation of why
(02:44):
Ali felt as being a sex workeron the street. Ali didn't let life
on the streets hold them back though. When they were seventeen, they began
working with a Safe Horizon street workprogram, where eloyees helped Ali get a
Social Security card and eventually allowed themto counsel other homeless youth. At this
(03:07):
time, Ali carry condoms and passedthem out to drug dealers because quote,
I've seen so many HIV infected peopleon the straw. Even now, there
are people who don't know how touse condoms end quote. Things were really
looking up for Ali until December fifth, nineteen ninety seven. Unfortunately, Ali's
(03:30):
body was found outside the Harlem housingProjects on East one thirty first Street.
They have been shot, and TheNew York Times covered the murder, saying
they were the third trans sex workerkilled in Harlem in just fourteen months.
So to this day, Ali's murderhas never been solved. Their memory does
live on, though, because inJune the two thousand and two cow Sits
(03:53):
Leano opened a center for homeless LGBTQyouth, the Ali Corny Center. It's
what it's called or AFC. Itprovides a safe space for kids to come
in to sleep, counseling for families, and other help for these teams.
(04:14):
Now that's an amazing story. Unfortunately, when you are in the Hood,
and especially if you're a sex worker, and then on top of that you're
identifying as trans or gay or bisexualand you're a man or transwoman, that
is just easier for you to getharassed. Also, the Hood don't respect
(04:42):
nobody. I learned that at anearly age, and especially if you've embarrassed
somewhere or somewhere feels uncomfortable being inyour presence, especially with someone like Ali.
You know, they probably to someoneor maybe one of the drug dealers
had a relationship with them. Wedon't know that, but it could be
(05:05):
anything. I think it's probably mostof the time crime of heated passion,
and some people they don't want theirsecret out, you know what I'm saying.
So what they'll do, they're willingto kill and it doesn't matter.
Unfortunately, because it is the hood. Police don't really care either. Detectives
(05:26):
don't care. They're gonna look atit for a week, maybe two,
and then I said, they're gonnachop it off to oh, this is
a cold case and no one's comingforward. Which also, you know,
people don't snitch, people don't wantto tell people know, but Unfortunately,
(05:46):
it'll never be a secret that's told. First of all, it's very brave
for you to come out and saythis is me, this is who I
am. And if you don't likeit, kissed my ass, you know,
this is who I am because theworld is against you. And being
a person of color, and thenbeing in the queer community LGBTQ, that's
(06:11):
even tougher. I am not inthe community of the LGBTQ, but I
will consider myself an ally someone whohas known people in this community my whole
life. I have family, friends, all walks of life, and you
(06:34):
know, I just consider myself anally. So as a young child,
my mother one of her best friendsgrowing up who was like uncle or godfather
to us. His name was Mike, and he was a gay male and
he lived in the hood and buthe always kept a nice home. And
(06:58):
it's so funny because you walked insideof his house and it would be white
carpet and like statues ten feet talland everything, you know, new speakers,
appliances, new electronics. But hisjar was a hot mass, like
his grass was ten feet tall.And I used to be like, why
it's your lawn messed up? Mymother explained to me like, well,
(07:20):
uncle Mike, you know, becauseof who he is and where he has
in his house, we don't wantto draw attention to So it was kind
of like a camouflage, like itlooked abandoned on the outside, but it
was such it was a nice timeon the inside. Anyway, Mike helped
me discover. Basically, if itwasn't for mic, I would have never
(07:42):
known who Rue Paul was. Youknow, we watched all kinds of movies.
I've met so many people in theLGBTQ community as far as like his
friends coming over. Because Mike wasa gay man who also had a partner
living with him. So being exposedto that at such a young age,
(08:05):
you know, it wasn't shocking.When my brother and I got older,
we were just like, you know, okay, people be gay, you
know what I'm saying, Like whatever, and I'm gonna be straight. I
guess, like now, you know, maybe I feel changed my mind.
Who gonna give a damn. ButI appreciate that because it taught me a
(08:26):
lot about myself. The people Imet, I've met drag queens and I
was not even ten years old.You know what I'm saying, so to
be around that like that is themost loving community I've ever been around.
And you know, I just appreciatethat I learned so much as far as
like makeup and doing hair, andit's funny, I'm a professional makeup artist
(08:50):
nowadays. So, you know,shout outs to Uncle Mike. I want
to thank him for putting me intothat environment. I don't know where he
is now these days. Unfortunately mymom don't really talk to him anymore.
But you know, those early yearswhen I was a kid, I'll never
forget those. So, you know, if anything, I would like to
(09:18):
tip my hat off to people inthat community and say that I am always
here for y'all and I will alwaysbe here for y'all and nothing's gonna change
about that. And I love y'allso much. So rest in peace to
Ali. And that's a great endingto a story. I also looked this
story up on YouTube and I sawthe impact that Ali or Luscious made on
(09:45):
the community as well as teens thatare in the queer community. So shout
out to Ali, Shout out tocow and everyone working with that that charity,
the vision that they're doing over atHarlowe, Well, it is what
(10:09):
it is. Thank y'all for tuningin to the Cocktail Ballerina and I'll see
y'all next week. Bye Baby.Cocktail Ballerina was created and hosted by Keila
Young, an executive produced by Danielfasten Now Jones and Skyler fasten Now Jones,
who was also the editor and sounddesigner. Theme music was created and
(10:31):
performed by Tracy Zailes. This wasa little bit fasten Now production.
Hey, what up, though,This is Keila your cocktail Ballerina, and
I'm here to bring you the unheard, uncensored, and unrepresented story of the
lifestyle of a sex worker. Heywhat up, y'all. It's Keila your
(00:26):
cocktail Ballerina, and I'm back withanother story about a sex worker who was
working for the community, senselessly murderedin their own neighborhood. Ali has shown
Forney aka Lushes. Luscious was bornin April twelfth, nineteen seventy five,
(00:47):
in Charlotte, North Carolina, butraised in Brooklyn by their single mother.
Luscious being black, gay, andgender nonconforming certainly ain't easy now, But
just imagine back in the seventies,eighties and the nineties. Back in the
day, you know, black peopledidn't even go to therapy. So you're
(01:08):
trans, you're what? Please?As some woman would say, no,
you're my son. They still dothat, which is offensive. When Ali
was just thirteen, Ali took partin sex work for the first time,
earning a mere forty bucks. Imean, I've been thirteen before, and
I used to babysit and I earnedtwenty five dollars and I thought, oh,
(01:32):
I got money for the whole week, so I can just imagine where
Ali is coming from. To Ali, the forty bucks made them feel like
the richest person in the world.So it was around the same time the
forties turned their back on their childand Ali went to live in a group
home. They bounced around from familyto family, so it's no wonder they
(01:55):
ran away to live on the streetthinking that was easier, which has a
lot in the foster care system.You know, some people put these foster
kids in their home either to justcollect a check or some of them are
even abusers. Now I'm not sayingthat happens to every foster family, but
that is a lot that is verycommon. So now here you got Ali,
(02:19):
He's going from home to home andhe's like, forget it, I'm
gonna just hustle. I'm gonna workon the street. I'm gonna continue doing
my thing, and I want todress in women's clothing. Unfortunately, Ali
got addicted to crack cocaine, notbecause it was something cool to do,
but because it ease the pain,the fear, and the degradation of why
(02:44):
Ali felt as being a sex workeron the street. Ali didn't let life
on the streets hold them back though. When they were seventeen, they began
working with a Safe Horizon street workprogram, where eloyees helped Ali get a
Social Security card and eventually allowed themto counsel other homeless youth. At this
(03:07):
time, Ali carry condoms and passedthem out to drug dealers because quote,
I've seen so many HIV infected peopleon the straw. Even now, there
are people who don't know how touse condoms end quote. Things were really
looking up for Ali until December fifth, nineteen ninety seven. Unfortunately, Ali's
(03:30):
body was found outside the Harlem housingProjects on East one thirty first Street.
They have been shot, and TheNew York Times covered the murder, saying
they were the third trans sex workerkilled in Harlem in just fourteen months.
So to this day, Ali's murderhas never been solved. Their memory does
live on, though, because inJune the two thousand and two cow Sits
(03:53):
Leano opened a center for homeless LGBTQyouth, the Ali Corny Center. It's
what it's called or AFC. Itprovides a safe space for kids to come
in to sleep, counseling for families, and other help for these teams.
(04:14):
Now that's an amazing story. Unfortunately, when you are in the Hood,
and especially if you're a sex worker, and then on top of that you're
identifying as trans or gay or bisexualand you're a man or transwoman, that
is just easier for you to getharassed. Also, the Hood don't respect
(04:42):
nobody. I learned that at anearly age, and especially if you've embarrassed
somewhere or somewhere feels uncomfortable being inyour presence, especially with someone like Ali.
You know, they probably to someoneor maybe one of the drug dealers
had a relationship with them. Wedon't know that, but it could be
(05:05):
anything. I think it's probably mostof the time crime of heated passion,
and some people they don't want theirsecret out, you know what I'm saying.
So what they'll do, they're willingto kill and it doesn't matter.
Unfortunately, because it is the hood. Police don't really care either. Detectives
(05:26):
don't care. They're gonna look atit for a week, maybe two,
and then I said, they're gonnachop it off to oh, this is
a cold case and no one's comingforward. Which also, you know,
people don't snitch, people don't wantto tell people know, but Unfortunately,
(05:46):
it'll never be a secret that's told. First of all, it's very brave
for you to come out and saythis is me, this is who I
am. And if you don't likeit, kissed my ass, you know,
this is who I am because theworld is against you. And being
a person of color, and thenbeing in the queer community LGBTQ, that's
(06:11):
even tougher. I am not inthe community of the LGBTQ, but I
will consider myself an ally someone whohas known people in this community my whole
life. I have family, friends, all walks of life, and you
(06:34):
know, I just consider myself anally. So as a young child,
my mother one of her best friendsgrowing up who was like uncle or godfather
to us. His name was Mike, and he was a gay male and
he lived in the hood and buthe always kept a nice home. And
(06:58):
it's so funny because you walked insideof his house and it would be white
carpet and like statues ten feet talland everything, you know, new speakers,
appliances, new electronics. But hisjar was a hot mass, like
his grass was ten feet tall.And I used to be like, why
it's your lawn messed up? Mymother explained to me like, well,
(07:20):
uncle Mike, you know, becauseof who he is and where he has
in his house, we don't wantto draw attention to So it was kind
of like a camouflage, like itlooked abandoned on the outside, but it
was such it was a nice timeon the inside. Anyway, Mike helped
me discover. Basically, if itwasn't for mic, I would have never
(07:42):
known who Rue Paul was. Youknow, we watched all kinds of movies.
I've met so many people in theLGBTQ community as far as like his
friends coming over. Because Mike wasa gay man who also had a partner
living with him. So being exposedto that at such a young age,
(08:05):
you know, it wasn't shocking.When my brother and I got older,
we were just like, you know, okay, people be gay, you
know what I'm saying, Like whatever, and I'm gonna be straight. I
guess, like now, you know, maybe I feel changed my mind.
Who gonna give a damn. ButI appreciate that because it taught me a
(08:26):
lot about myself. The people Imet, I've met drag queens and I
was not even ten years old.You know what I'm saying, so to
be around that like that is themost loving community I've ever been around.
And you know, I just appreciatethat I learned so much as far as
like makeup and doing hair, andit's funny, I'm a professional makeup artist
(08:50):
nowadays. So, you know,shout outs to Uncle Mike. I want
to thank him for putting me intothat environment. I don't know where he
is now these days. Unfortunately mymom don't really talk to him anymore.
But you know, those early yearswhen I was a kid, I'll never
forget those. So, you know, if anything, I would like to
(09:18):
tip my hat off to people inthat community and say that I am always
here for y'all and I will alwaysbe here for y'all and nothing's gonna change
about that. And I love y'allso much. So rest in peace to
Ali. And that's a great endingto a story. I also looked this
story up on YouTube and I sawthe impact that Ali or Luscious made on
(09:45):
the community as well as teens thatare in the queer community. So shout
out to Ali, Shout out tocow and everyone working with that that charity,
the vision that they're doing over atHarlowe, Well, it is what
(10:09):
it is. Thank y'all for tuningin to the Cocktail Ballerina and I'll see
y'all next week. Bye Baby.Cocktail Ballerina was created and hosted by Keila
Young, an executive produced by Danielfasten Now Jones and Skyler fasten Now Jones,
who was also the editor and sounddesigner. Theme music was created and
(10:31):
performed by Tracy Zailes. This wasa little bit fasten Now production.
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