Transgender Day of Remembrance
Transgender Day of Remembrance | |
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British Foreign Office, 2018 | |
Observed by | Transgender community and supporters |
Type |
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Celebrations | Typically, a TDoR memorial includes a reading of the names of those who died from November 20 of the former year to November 20 of the current year, and may include other actions, such as candlelight vigils, dedicated church services, marches, art shows, food drives and film screenings |
Date | November 20 |
Frequency | Annual |
First time | 1999 |
Related to | Transgender Awareness Week, International Transgender Day of Visibility |
Part of a series on |
Transgender topics |
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t |
The Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDoR), also known as the International Transgender Day of Remembrance, has been observed annually from its inception on November 20 to memorialize those who have been murdered as a result of transphobia.[1][2] The day was founded to draw attention to the continued violence directed toward transgender people.[3]
Transgender Day of Remembrance was founded in 1999 by a small group, including Gwendolyn Ann Smith,[4] Nancy Nangeroni, and Jahaira DeAlto,[5] to memorialize the murders of Black transgender women Rita Hester in Allston, Massachusetts,[6] and Chanelle Pickett in Watertown, Massachusetts.[7][8] After Hester's death in 1998, Smith was surprised to realize that none of her friends remembered Pickett or her murder three years prior, saying "It really surprised me that it had already, in a short period of time, been forgotten, and here we were with another murder at the same site.”[8][9] The first TDoR took place in November 1999 in Boston and San Francisco, as both Hester and Pickett's deaths occurred in November.[8][10] TDoR continued to be observed annually on November 20, the anniversary of Pickett's murder.[8] In 2010, TDoR was observed in over 185 cities throughout more than 20 countries.[11]
Typically, a TDoR memorial includes a reading of the names of those who died from October 1 of the former year to September 30th of the current year,
History
Rita Hester (November 30, 1963 – November 28, 1998) was a transgender African-American woman who was murdered in Allston, Massachusetts, on November 28, 1998.[16] In response to her murder, an outpouring of grief and anger led to a candlelight vigil held the following Friday (December 4) in which about 250 people participated. The community struggle to see Rita's life and identity covered respectfully by local papers, including the Boston Herald and Bay Windows, was chronicled by Nancy Nangeroni.[17] Her death inspired the "Remembering Our Dead" web project and the Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDoR).[18]
Chanelle Pickett (1972-1995) was a Black trans woman who was murdered in Watertown, Massachusetts on November 20, 1995.[7] Her death inspired many actions, including several vigils and the creation of a group dedicated to preventing violence against trans people, called "Remember Chanelle" which was formed on December 18, 1995.[19][20] Similar to Rita Hester's murder, Chanelle Pickett's murder was chronicled by Nancy Nangeroni[7] and also inspired the "Remembering Our Dead" web project and Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDoR).[8][9][10]
Monique Thomas (March 30, 1963 – September 1998) was a Black trans woman murdered at her home in Dorchester, Massachusetts. Her murder was discussed alongside the murders of Rita Hester and Chanelle Pickett in “Remembering Our Dead,” a web project[21] that led to the creation of International Transgender Day of Remembrance.[22] Although Monique's death was not mentioned often during the initial creation of the day, she is now frequently mentioned in articles that discuss the ongoing impact and observance of Transgender Day of Remembrance. [23] [24]
Reception
This section may lend undue weight to certain ideas, incidents, or controversies. The specific problem is: This section was originally named "Race, TDoR, and Transgender Women of Color"; though the intersection of race, trans women of colour and TDoR is important, content outside of this is necessary in this section. (October 2022) |
Scholars and activists committed to advancing
Theorists
Scholar Sarah Lamble argues that TDoR's focus on a collective mourning risks producing the white spectator as innocent of, rather than complicit in, the violence that produces the deaths of trans women of color they are mourning. Lamble states that:
Our task then is to push these further—not only with respect to TDOR but also in the many ways we recount and confront violence. None of us are innocent. We must envision practices of remembrance that situate our own positions within structures of power that authorize violence in the first place. Our task is to move from sympathy to responsibility, from complicity to reflexivity, from witnessing to action. It is not enough to simply honor the memory of the dead—we must transform the practices of the living.
— Lamble, 2008: Retelling racialized violence, remaking white innocence: The politics of interlocking oppressions in Transgender Day of Remembrance'[29]
Transgender activist Mirha-Soleil Ross criticizes TDoR for conflating the motivation behind the murders of transgender women sex workers. In an interview with scholar Viviane Namaste, she presents examples of transgender sex workers who were murdered in Toronto for being sex workers and accuses the organizers of TDoR of using these women who died for being sex workers as martyrs of the transgender community.[30]
Recognition by governments
Canada
The Canadian province of Ontario unanimously passed the Trans Day of Remembrance Act, 2017 on December 12, 2017, officially recognizing TDoR and requiring the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to hold a minute of silence every year on November 20.[31][32]
United States
In 2020,
Antony J. Blinken, United States Secretary of State, also issued a statement mourning the loss of trans lives in 2021.[40] As the chief American diplomat, he stated, "Promoting and protecting the human rights of LGBTQI+ persons is a foreign policy priority of this Administration."
On November 18, 2021, on the House floor, Representative Ayanna Pressley read the names of 46 trans people murdered that year.[34][41][42] Pressley was joined by other members of the Congressional [LGBTQ+] Equality Caucus that included Representatives Marie Newman, David N. Cicilline, Mark Takano, Sara Jacobs, and Al Green.[43]
See also
- Day of Silence
- Hate crime
- History of transgender people in the United States
- International Transgender Day of Visibility
- List of transgender-rights organizations
- List of people killed for being transgender
- Trans bashing
- Trans Day of Action
- Transgender rights movement
References
- ^ "Trans Day of Remembrance". Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition. 2013. Archived from the original on August 14, 2010. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
- ^ "Transgender Day of Remembrance". Human Rights Campaign. Archived from the original on November 26, 2013. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
- QNotes. Archivedfrom the original on July 24, 2011. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
- ^ Smith, Gwendolyn Ann (November 20, 2012). "Transgender Day of Remembrance: Why We Remember". HuffPost. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
In 1999 a handful of transgender people sought to highlight the need for awareness around anti-transgender violence, which refers to attacks against people who are perceived as transgender – regardless of how one may personally identify. To that end, we held the first Transgender Day of Remembrance event in the Castro district of San Francisco, holding the names of those we'd lost in silent testimony.
- ^ Eagle, Amanda Burke, The Berkshire (May 3, 2021). "Jahaira DeAlto, unflinching advocate of marginalized, among victims of Boston slaying". The Berkshire Eagle. Retrieved February 7, 2023.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Jacobs, Ethan (November 15, 2008). "Remembering Rita Hester". EDGE Boston. Archived from the original on October 8, 2012. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
- ^ a b c Nangeroni, Nancy (May 17, 1997). "The Chanelle Pickett Story by Nancy Nangeroni". GenderTalk & Gender Education & Media, Inc. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e Compton, Julie (November 16, 2017). ""We need to keep fighting," Transgender Day of Remembrance founder pleads #TDOR". NBC News. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
- ^ a b "Remembering Rita Hester, Who Changed What It Means to Remember Trans Lives". Them. March 31, 2022. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
- ^ a b Sosin, Kate (July 15, 2020). "'Everybody knew Rita': Decades later, still no answers in slaying of Black trans woman". NBC News. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
- ^ St. Pierre, E. (2010). TDoR Events and Locations 2010. Transgenderdor.org.
- ^ "St. Louis Observes Transgender Day of Remembrance". Vital Voice. 2012. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013.
- ^ "Transgender deaths commemorated at Brighton vigil". BBC News. November 21, 2010. Archived from the original on November 20, 2018. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
- ^ Gonzalez, Yvonne (November 18, 2010). "Groups recognize transgender remembrance day". The State Press. Archived from the original on November 22, 2010.
- ^ "Exclusive Video: Candis Cayne Discusses Being Out as Transgender in Hollywood". GLAAD. November 20, 2009. Archived from the original on August 4, 2011. Retrieved March 7, 2011.
- ^ 'Remembering Rita Hester' Archived November 5, 2014, at the Wayback Machine November 15, 2008, Edge Boston
- ^ Nangeroni, Nancy (February 1, 1999). "Rita Hester's Murder and the Language of Respect". GenderTalk. Archived from the original on August 24, 2019. Retrieved November 20, 2017.
- Huffington Post. Archivedfrom the original on November 16, 2013. Retrieved November 9, 2013.
- ^ "ACTIVISTS RESPOND TO TRANSEXUAL MURDERS". www.gendertalk.com. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
- ^ "Boston Mourns After Transsexual Murder." FTM International, no. 35, Autumn 1996, p.15.
- ^ "Monique Thomas". Remembering Our Dead. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
- WBUR. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
- Cambridge Day. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
- WBUR. November 20, 2019. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
- ^ National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs. "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and HIV-Affected Hate Violence in 2014" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on July 5, 2016. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
- ^ "Black Trans* Women's Lives Matter". Archived from the original on January 14, 2016. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
- Huffington Post. Archivedfrom the original on March 24, 2016. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
- ^ C. Riley Snorton and Jin Haritaworn (2013). Trans necropolitics: A transnational reflection on violence, death, and the trans of color afterlife. The Transgender Studies Reader 2: New York: Routledge Press. pp. 66–76. Archived from the original on February 27, 2019. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location (link) - from the original on July 7, 2015. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
- ISBN 9780889614833.
- ^ "Ontario enshrines Trans Day of Remembrance in law as Nov. 20". CP24. The Canadian Press. December 12, 2017. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
- ^ "Trans Day of Remembrance Act, 2017". S.O. 2017, c. 29, Act of December 14, 2017. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
- ^ "Joe Biden on Instagram: "At least 37 transgender and gender-nonconforming people have been killed this year, most of them Black and Brown transgender women. It's intolerable. This Transgender Day of Remembrance, we honor their lives—and recommit to the work that remains to end this epidemic of violence. To transgender and gender-nonconforming people across America and around the world: From the moment I am sworn in as president, know that my administration will see you, listen to you, and fight for not only your safety but also the dignity and justice you have been denied."".
- ^ a b "2021 marks the deadliest year yet for transgender people in the U.S., advocacy group says". CBS News. November 20, 2021. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
- ^ "Statement by President Biden on Transgender Day of Remembrance". November 20, 2021.
- ^ Biden-Harris Administration Memorializes Transgender Day of Remembrance, NOVEMBER 20, 2021
- ^ Holmes, Juwan J. (November 20, 2021). "President Biden honors trans people lost to "horrifying" violence on Transgender Day of Remembrance". LGBTQ Nation.
- ^ "Memorializing Transgender Day of Remembrance" (PDF). whitehouse.gov. November 20, 2021.
- ^ Judd, Donald (November 20, 2021). "Biden marks 'deadliest year on record for transgender Americans' on day of remembrance | CNN Politics". CNN.
- ^ "On Transgender Day of Remembrance".
- ^ "Squad Member Ayanna Pressley Read Names of 46 Killed Trans People in Speech". Newsweek. November 19, 2021.
- ^ Rep. Ayanna Pressley Honors Trans Remembrance Day on the Floor of Congress, Ayanna Pressley's YouTube Channel
- ^ "Transgender Day of Remembrance Special Order Hour - November 17th, 2021" – via YouTube.
External links
- Smith, Gwendolyn Ann. "Transgender Day of Remembrance: Rita Hester and Beyond", Huffington Post, 2013-11-20.
- International Transgender Day of Remembrance at GLAAD
- Transgender Day Of Remembrance – Manchester, UK