Today is Trans Day of Remembrance

Today marks the 11th International Transgender Day of Remembrance, a day to memorialize those who were killed due to anti-transgender hatred or prejudice. We also remember those transgender folks who took their own lives because of transphobia and discrimination including COLAGE community members Marcelle Cook-Daniels and Stacy Clement.
COLAGE shares the following essay written by Monica Canfield-Lenfest, COLAGE KOT Coordinator, after her participation in TDOR observations last year:

During the Transgender Day of Remembrance service, we are reminded – these people are children, siblings, parents, friends, and lovers. As we read the names, I think of the mother mourning her transgender child’s death, the brother who will never understand how someone could take his sibling’s life. There is a small child whose parent committed suicide, an adult whose parent died because the doctors refused treatment. I don’t know their names, but anti-transgender violence has taken their family members.
In this moment, I find sadness. In this moment, I find rage.
Then, my thoughts turn to the transgender people in my life. I picture my father and her partner, the peaceful life they have pieced together in the small town surrounded by mountains. Grateful that they have a place to live, that she has a job. They are less vulnerable than many of those on the TDoR list, but still the fear creeps in. I could be that family member, holding a picture at the vigil. This year, I am not. I say a little prayer that my loved ones – family and friends – live free from violence.
In this moment, I find sadness. In this moment, I find rage.
While marching through San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood, I meet a woman whose name could have been on the memorial list. She tells me her story of surviving stab wounds and being left at Ocean Beach, of the children who found her there, of her recovery just two years ago. And she is marching next to me, holding a candle just like mine.
In this moment, I find perseverance. In this moment, I find hope.
May this compassionate rage fuel our collective efforts to recreate a world where people live free from violence and discrimination.
COLAGE invites you to visit the Trans Day of Remembrance website HERE to view the names of the transgender members of our community lost in 2009 and to find a TDOR observance happening tonight near you. Please also consider making a donation to the Marcelle Cook-Daniels Memorial Fund by clicking HERE.