Transgender Day of Remembrance
By Grace Carballo ‘17
November 20th is International Transgender Day of Remembrance, a day to memorialize those who were killed due to anti-transgender prejudice or hatred. And tragically, there are many victims to remember; according to TDoR’s founder, Gwendolyn Ann Smith, every two weeks, on average, someone is murdered in the United States in an act of anti-transgender violence and internationally, these killings occur almost daily.
Transgender Day of Remembrance started in 1999 in honor of Rita Hester, a young, transgender woman of color who was murdered in her apartment in Massachusetts in November 1998. TDoR is important because it raises public awareness of the hate crimes against transgender people which the media currently doesn’t do. In fact, the media often uses the wrong pronouns when reporting the victim’s murder, which is extremely upsetting to their already-mourning loved ones.
Transgender people are those whose gender identity differs from the sex they were assigned at birth. The Gender Unicorn graphic (introduced to me at a USC WYSE reflection) helped me understand the distinctions and the importance of using the correct terminology, and if you need further clarification http://www.transstudent.org/gender is a wonderful resource.
Transgender Day of Remembrance is a reminder to non-transgender people that transgender people are sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, mothers, fathers, friends, lovers. It gives allies a chance to step forward and stand with transgender people, and it is a time for us all to mourn publicly and honor those who might otherwise be forgotten.
For the past 4 years, Courtney O’Donnell, a transgender actress and writer, has compiled a list (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/courtney-odonnell/transgender-day-of-rememb_1_b_8365918.html) of the names of the victims of anti-transgender hate crimes since the previous Transgender Day of Remembrance. She notes that the list is not complete because many transgender deaths go unreported or are lost due to misgendering. Another list can be found at http://tdor.info/.
I’ve included the names from Courtney O’Donnell’s list to commemorate those who have fallen this year; they are not forgotten. It is a long list, though incomplete, of people who were murdered thoughtlessly for simply being themselves.
Zella Ziona, Diana Sacayán, Rafaela Capucci, Melvin, Kiesha Jenskins, Chocobar Marcela, Keyshia Blige, Jasmine Collins, Tamara Dominguez, Elisha Walker, Kandis Capri, Ashton O’Hara, Shade Schuler, Amber Monroe, KC Haggard, Nephi Luthers, India Clarke, Daya Rani Kinnar, Mercedes Williamson, Laura Vermont, Francela Méndez Rodríguez, London Chanel, Yosvani Muñoz Robaina, Almaroof Bijli, Saima Shahzadi, Shan Zaib, Billi, Vanessa Santillan, Two unidentified trans women in Pakistan, Kristina Grant Infiniti, Sumaya Dalmar, Bri Golec, Piu da Silva, Penny Proud, Taja DeJesus, Marisol Almeida, Yazmin Vash Payne, Papi Edwards, Hande Ö, unidentified trans woman in Badbher, Pakistan, Lamia Beard, Ty Underwood, Gizzy Fowler, Deshawnda Sanchez, Keymori Shatoya Johnson, unidentified trans woman in Tblisi
“This day we mourn our losses and we honor our precious dead – tomorrow and every other day, we shall continue to fight for the living.” - Gwendolyn Ann Smith, Founder of Transgender Day of Remembrance (https://twitter.com/gwenners)
An important part of that fight is awareness of the injustice and I hope this brief post will combat at least some ignorance, as my research on this subject has for me personally.
- Grace
