Nov 20th: Transgender Day of Remembrance

November 20th every year is the Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDoR). Its purpose is to remember those whose lives were taken from them just because they were transgender.

So far this year, Jan-Nov 2021, 44 transgender people have been murdered in the US. Those are just the ones we know about, the ones whose deaths have been reported and who were identified as transgender by the authorities and by their families. Many more (and no one knows how many) are just disappeared, or were reported under their birth name and gender, the ultimate in "cancel culture".

And that is just in the US. The situation is even worse elsewhere. Worldwide, over 350 trans people are murdered every year, that we know of. The number of murders concealed is probably many times that.

It is traditional on TDoR to read aloud the names of those murdered. Here are this year's victims in the US:

- Tyianna Alexander, who was also known as Davarea Alexander, was a 28-year-old Black trans woman. Tyianna was shot to death in Chicago on January 6.
- Samuel Edmund Damián Valentín, a transgender man, was killed on January 9 in Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico.
- Bianca “Muffin” Bankz, a Black transgender woman, was shot to death in Atlanta, Ga. on January 17
- Dominique Jackson, a Black transgender woman, was shot to death in Jackson, Miss. on January 25.
- Fifty Bandz, a 21-year-old Black transgender woman,was shot to death in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on January 28.
- Alexus Braxton, also known as Kimmy Icon Braxton, a 45-year-old Black trans woman, was killed on Feb. 4 in Miami
- Chyna Carrillo, who also went by Chyna Cardenas, was killed in the morning hours of February 18, 2021, in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania..
- Siblings Jeffrey “JJ” Bright, a 16-year-old trans boy, and Jasmine Cannady, a 22-year-old non-binary person, both from Ambridge, Pennsylvania, were killed on February 22.
- Jenna Franks, a 34-year-old white transgender woman, was killed in Jacksonville, North Carolina in February.
- Diamond Kyree Sanders, a 23-year-old Black transgender woman, was shot to death in Cincinnati, Ohio on March 3.
- Rayanna Pardo, a 26-year-old Latina trans woman, was killed on March 17 in Los Angeles.
- Jaida Peterson, a 29-year-old Black trans woman, was killed on April 4 in Charlotte, N.C.
- Dominique Lucious, a 26-year-old Black transgender woman, was shot and killed on April 8 in Springfield, Missouri.
- Remy Fennell, a Black transgender woman in her 20s, was shot to death on April 15 in Charlotte, N.C.
- Tiara Banks, a 24-year-old Black transgender woman, was killed in Chicago, Illinois on April 21, 2021.
- Natalia Smut, a 24-year-old Black and Puerto Rican transgender woman, was killed on April 23 in Milpitas, California.
- Iris Santos, a 22-year-old Latinx transgender woman, was killed in Houston, Texas on April 23, 2021.
- Tiffany Thomas, a 38-year-old Black transgender woman, was killed on April 24 in Dallas, Texas.
- Keri Washington, a 49-year-old Black transgender woman, was killed on May 1 in Clearwater, Florida
- Jahaira DeAlto, a 42-year-old transgender woman, was killed on May 2 in Boston, Mass.
- Whispering Wind Bear Spirit, a 41-year-old Indigenous non-binary person, was shot in York, Pennsylvania on May 3 and died early on May 4.
- Sophie Vásquez, a 36-year-old Latina transgender woman, was shot and killed in Georgia on May 4.
- Danika “Danny” Henson, who also went by Pryynce Daniel and Niia Da Don on Facebook, a 31-year-old Black transgender woman, was shot and killed in Baltimore, Maryland, on May 4
- Serenity Hollis, a 24-year-old Black transgender woman, was shot and killed in Albany, Georgia, on May 8
- Oliver “Ollie” Taylor, a 17-year-old white trans boy, died on May 19 after being kidnapped and shot on May 12 in Gervais, Oregon.
- Thomas Hardin, a 35-year-old Black transgender woman, was killed on May 2 in York, South Carolina.
- Poe Black, who also went by Oliver Jackson and Legion, was a 21-year-old transgender man who was killed in Niland, California in an area called Slab City, in early May.
- EJ Boykin, who also went by Novaa Watson, was killed in Lynchburg, Virginia on June 14.
- Aidelen Evans, a 24-year-old Black transgender woman, was found dead in March in Port Arthur, Texas
- Taya Ashton, a 20-year-old Black trans woman, was killed in Suitland, Prince George’s County, Maryland on July 17.
- Shai Vanderpump, a 23-year-old Black trans woman, was killed in Trenton, New Jersey, on July 30.
- Tierramarie Lewis, a 36-year-old Black transgender woman, was killed in Cleveland, Ohio on June 12.
- Miss CoCo, a 44-year-old trans woman of color, was killed in Dallas, Texas on August 7, 2021.
- Pooh Johnson, a 25- year-old Black trans woman, was killed in Shreveport, Louisiana on August 23, 2021.
- Disaya Monaee, a 32-year-old Black transgender woman, was fatally shot in Chicago, Illinois on September 6.
- Briana Hamilton was a 25-year-old Black transgender woman who was fatally shot in Chicago, Illinois.
- Kiér Laprí Kartier, a 21-year-old Black transgender woman, was fatally shot in Arlington, Texas on Sept. 30, 2021.
- Mel Groves, a 25-year-old Black trans man, was fatally shot on Oct. 11, 2021 in Jackson, Miss.
- Royal Poetical Starz, a 26-year-old Black trans woman, was fatally shot in Miami Gardens, Florida on Oct. 2,
- Zoella “Zoey” Rose Martinez, a 20-year-old Latina trans woman, was fatally shot in Maple Valley, Washington back on Aug. 31, 2021.
- Jo Acker, a white 26-year-old transgender woman, was killed in Boise, Idaho on October 26, 2021.
- Jessi Hart, a white 42-year-old transgender woman, was killed in Banks, Oregon. Her body was found on Oct. 17, 2021.
- Rikkey Outumuro, a.k.a. Tru Starlet, was a 39-year-old Latina transgender woman who was fatally shot in Centralia, WA. on the night of October 30 or the morning of October 31, 2021
- Marquiisha Lawrence, a 28-year-old Black trans woman, was fatally shot in South Carolina on Nov. 4, 2021.

For more information on TDoR, here are a couple of links:
Transgender Day of Remembrance
Brazil, Mexico, USA saw most trans murders in 2020 — Philadelphia Gay News

 

Hi, Toni. Nice to meet you.

 

Thank you! Wishing us a safe and happy existence is a good thing. If more people did that, the world would be a better place.

Don't be grabbing anyone without asking first! (I know it was a figure of speech, but still... ) Telling someone, "It's okay" ... Well, it isn't really. Telliing them "You are okay", ah, that is something very helpful. Please do it! But "it" (i.e. the world situation for transgender people) isn't okay at all. It is far from it. And that is what TDoR is all about: calling attention to just how un-okay it really is.

There are places in the world where being trans is relatively okay. I am fortunate enough to live in one of them. But I know that it is not safe for me to cross the border. I would probably get away with it 99 times out of 100, but it is not worth taking the chance for that other 1%.

The best thing that someone like yourself can do is to be an ally. Don't "out" someone ever: let it be their decision whether or not to be out. (Not suggesting you would, @soulcompromise ; I am addressing the larger audience here.) If they are out, then by all means recommend a support group (or any other resources) if they would benefit from them.

But you don't have to know anyone trans in real life to be an ally. If someone tells an off-colour t****y joke, speak up: call them on it. If someone advocates for repressive, unconstitutional legislation, argue against them. Do not support politicians who advocate repression, even if you like some of their other policies. Take a stand.