Today marks the 18th International Transgender Day of Remembrance, a day to memorialize those who were killed due to anti-transgender hatred or prejudice. My thoughts today are with all of the transgender community, their parents, children, and friends.
The Day of Remembrance was founded by Gwendolyn Ann Smith to honor Rita Hester, murdered on November 28th, 1998 in Allston, Massachusetts. Transgriot has a good profile of Hester and her legacy. Morgan Collado’s 2014 piece at Autostraddle, “Remembering Us When We’re Gone, Ignoring Us While We’re Here: Trans Women Deserve More,” is also a must-read. If nothing else, though, view the list of the transgender people murdered in 2016, and realize how much more work we all have to do to spread understanding and acceptance. Realize how much race and class play into society’s views of trans women of color, who make up the majority of the victims, and how racial and economic justice must go hand in hand with LGBTQ equality.
For a list of local observances, see the Events page at tdor.info. Whether you attend one or not, today is a good day to reflect on what we each can do to end the violence, starting with our own inclusive actions, e.g., using someone’s self-stated pronouns, speaking out when we hear anti-trans remarks, urging lawmakers to pass trans-inclusive anti-discrimination legislation, and educating our children (perhaps through a variety of books) about what it means to be transgender or gender nonconforming.
May their lives not be forgotten. May they inspire us to continue the work.