November 28, 1998. That is the date that Rita Hester, a transgender woman, was found dead in her apartment. She had been brutally murdered; after her death, she was brutalized again in the press.
Her death was one in a tragic series: men, women, and youth who have been violently killed because of their actual or percieved gender expression or identity. This death, however, did spark something new: a vigil, the Remembering Our Dead website, and an annual observance called the Transgender Day of Remembrance. Today's edition of WGLB is written by sberel and it is dedicated to our own virtual observance of the TDoR.
"You were just too much, girl, for somebody else's world"
This song, running time approximately 5 minutes, is a musical reflection on Rita Hester.
I have attended three TDoR events, and I plan to attend this Saturday's event in Houston. Today, I would like to give you a taste of what such events could be like in order to encourage you to attend one near you. I also would like to provide a place where we can have our own virtual observance.
In Houston, at the start, TDoR was observed at City Hall. It was a simple candlelight vigil with the reading of the names of the dead, victims of violence due to prejudice revolving around gender expression in the past year. (These are just cases that are reported in the media.) The reading of the names remains a key aspect of observing the Day of Rembrance. Before I attended my first TDoR, I perused the stories at this site and was blown away by the pictures and the stories. In Houston, the organizers provide a booklet which contains this information. I look at each precious, beautiful person; read what is known about his or her life and death; and I simply cannot understand why anyone would hurt him or her. Each year, more are added. More dead. I remember. Please join me in witness and reflection.
Day Of Remembrance
S. Bear Bergman
I’m scrolling and scrolling,
names on my screen keep rolling,
more than I expected to see, hundreds,
too many to count quickly, too many to die so early
(you may read the entire poem here))
Transgender and disability activist Eli Clare, in the excellent book Exile and Pride, writes:
In the end, I will sit on the wide, flat top of my wall, legs dangling over those big, uncrackable stones, weathered smooth and clean. Sit with butch women, femme dykes, Nellie men, studly fags, radical faeires, drag queens and kings, transexxual people who want nothing more than to be women and men, intersexed people, hermaphrodites with attitudes, tansgendered, pangendered, bigendered, polygendered, ungendered, androgynous people of many varieties and trade stories long into the night. Laugh and cry and tell stories. Sad stories about bodies stolen, bodies no longer here. Enraging stories about false images, devastating lies, untold violence. Bold, brash stories about reclaiming our bodies and changing the world.
It (TDoR) means that today, we become teachers, we became educators, we become protectors, we become providers of awareness ... today, we create good memories. We won't forget you.
The following video runs about ten minutes. It contains personal reflections on the meaning of Transgender Day of Remembrance.
We are making a difference.
Here's another youtube observance from last year. It's about 2 - 1/2 minutes. Please be aware there is footage of the beating of Duanna Johnson, so please be careful if that is a trigger for you.
Link.
Transgender Day of Remembrance has been part of my own journey toward advocacy for trans people. Each year, people tell their own personal stories. I have heard stories about women who can't get a job in "gay-friendly" Montrose because she's trans. A man, raped by his father when he was a little girl, because he violated gender norms. A lawyer tells about her client, a beautiful trans woman, who was paraded around the courthouse; displayed, like an object, and ridiculed. Each of these stories puts a human face on the struggle. Each of these stories reminds me of how fortunate I am and of the courage and persistence it takes for trans people to live in this world.
There are statistics and fact sheets, and there are stories. The basic facts are stark. High unemployment and poverty rates. High rates of suicidality. Difficulty in accessing medical care. Not to mention, the dreaded bathroom issue. All I can say about this is that if you can't give people enough privacy when dealing with their waste that their gender identity doesn't matter, the problem is not them, it's you. Suffice it to say that many activities in daily life that a cis-gendered person takes for granted present a challenge for most trans people.
Stories drive this reality home: transgender people pay a heavy price for living a life of authenticity. They are subjected to belittlement, physical, emotional, and psychological violence, and discrimination. This is the price they pay just to be themselves in a world that doesn't accept or understand them.
In Houston, the organizers, in every year that I have attended, have invited representatives of the Houston Police Department to speak. Each time, I am struck by the eagerness of the officers to help. While it is the case that transgender persons are not protected by hate crimes laws, if the officers can categorize something that looks like a hate crime against a trans person as such on the basis of gender or sexual orientation, they will (that's what last year's speaker, whose job is to categorize the crime, said anyway). However, we really must have hate crime protections for transgender people so that the violence based on gender identity and expression is counted and so that hate crimes against transgender people can be investigated and prosecuted as such.
While the officers who choose to attend our TDoR event are clearly sensitive to the concerns and needs of trans people, many officers are not. I had a conversation with one officer at a PFLAG meeting in which she told me that there were problems with the way officers treat trans people when they encounter them on the job. When trans people are the victims of crime, they need to know that they are going to be treated respectfully by the officers who respond, that they won't be victimized again at the hands of the very people who should be protecting them. And in the case of arrests of trans sex workers, the trans person needs to be treated with respect as well. I found an interesting Chicago Police Department training video, which has some problems, but overall I think the effort, and efforts like this, are an excellent way to make life safer for trans people. http://www.youtube.com/... (running time about 10 minutes).
One thing I really like about this video is the matter-of-fact way they show trans people. They are very accessible and human. Of course, those of us who have family members and friends who are trans know very well that trans people are just like anyone else. However, and Eli Clare has done a lot of work on this association, many people think of trans people as strange and something less than human; freaks. This is really just old-fashioned ignorance. I can recall, after hurricane Katrina, there was a highly publicized incident where a trans woman was expelled from a homeless shelter because she was trans. My mother attends a bridge group where this incident became the subject of discussion; the women, my mother's friends, referred to this woman as a "freak". Such a hurtful and terrible thing to say. Attitudes and words such as this feed this society's hostile environment with regard to difference, and in particular trans people.
At the first TDoR that I attended, we were met with this greeting: "We welcome all letters of the alphabet". We were left with this exhortation: "What will you do to make things better?" I believe every little thing can help. Particularly in dealing with language and raising awareness within one's own circle of influence. I have, multiple times, spoken out in workplace or social environments; usually about language but sometimes explaining what a non-discrimination policy would look like. I find that people who respect you will listen. And, you know, even if they don't know or respect you, speak up anyway. Challenging ignorant attitudes or negative language can prompt the user of that language, and any observers, to rethink things.
It haunts me, sometimes, thinking of what our culture could be like, if we could learn to love, affirm, and celebrate diversity. I want to see it.
I am only one
But I am still one.
I cannot do everything,
But still I can do something.
And because I cannot do everything
I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.
Edward Everett Hale
Now, the names. You may visit this link to read about the dates and the way these individuals died. Please take your time and be gentle with yourself when you do.
Yasmin, Honduras
Unknown, 1 of 6, Brazil
Unknown, 2 of 6, Brazil
Unknown, 3 of 6, Brazil
Unknown, 4 of 6, Brazil
Unknown, 4 of 6, Brazil
Unknown, 5 of 6, Brazil
Unknown, 6 of 6, Brazil
Noelia, Honduras
Unidentified Transsexual, Gebze, Turkey
Unidentified, Milan, Italy
Taysia Elzy, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Michael Hunt, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Unknown, Brazil, 1 of 5
Unknown, Brazil, 2 of 5
Unknown, Brazil, 3 of 5
Unknown, Brazil, 4 of 5
Unknown, Brazil, 5 of 5
Katia Otacilio Vilela, Jatai, Brazil
Alexa Rojas Castro, Monterrey, Mexico
Cynthia Nicole, Comayaguela, Honduras
Marcela Cairo Souza, Jatai, Brazil
Aline Da Silva Ribeira, Castelfranco Veneto, Italy
Caprice Curry, San Francisco, California, USA
Rovilson Teixeira, Londrina, Brazil
Minja Kochis, Belgrade, Serbia
"Victor Manuel" Albor Camacho, Acámbaro, Mexico
"Juan Carlos" Guillen Bautista, Acámbaro, Mexico
Dayana Nicole Castillo Garcia, Tarapoto, Perú
Unknown, Guayaquil, Ecuador
Cita Solorzano (muxe), Asunción Ixtaltepec, Mexico
Camila Hernandez Nieto, Sincelejo, Colombia
Noor Azlan Khamis, Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia
Will Teixeira da Silva, Recife, Brazil
"Ailton" Correa Maia, Curitiba, Brazil
Cristy, Guatemala-City, Guatemala
Puttalakshmi's, Bangalore, India
Camila Pereira, Uberlândia, Brazil
Cris Francisco das Neves, Cabo de Santo Agostinho, Brazil
Vicki Londono Chaverria, Ibagué, Columbia
Pequena P, Gualeguaychú, Argentina
Miriam Nunes Lucas, Ribeirão das Neves, Brazil
Guimaraes de Lima, João Pessoa, Brazil
"Wanderson Wanderley" Teixeira da Rocha, João Pessoa, Brazil
Kirsi Ubri, Santiago, Dominican Republic
"Julio" Avila Albarracin, Mar del Plata, Argentina
Ebru Soykin, Istanbul, Turkey
Adriana Sanchez Lopez (muxe), Juchitan, Mexico
Eda Yildirm, Bursa, Turkey
Sasha Estafania, Caracas, Venezuela
Smail L., Valencia, Spain
Gisele "Roni" Galente, Gualeguaychú, Argentina
Unknown, Niteroi, Brazil
Melek K, Ankara, Turkey
Jimmy McCollough, Fayetteville, North Carolina, USA
Carneiro de Sousa, Fortaleza, Brazil
Jeva Padilla, Santiago, Dominican Republic
Ramon Martinez, Santiago, Dominican Republic
Juliana Martins, Curitiba, Brazil
Dos Santos, Varzea Grande, Brazil
Fernanda Botelho, Curitiba, Brazil
Jenifer, Curitiba, Brazil
Diksy Jones, Wellington, New Zealand
Tigresa de Souza Reis, Feira de Santana, Brazil
Xiomaran Duras, Caracas, Venezuela
Cagla, Ankara, Turkey
Unknown, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Foxy Ivy, Detroit, Michigan, USA
Dara, Curitiba, Brazil
Papucha, La Victoria, Peru
Kelly (Frederick) Watson, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
Tanya Ardon, San Salvador, El Salvador
Catherine, San Salvador, El Salvador
Carla Regina Bento, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Rafaele, Curitiba, Brazil
Anita Fajardo Rios, El Carmen, Mexico
Name not reported, Belem, Brazil
Luana, Maceió, Brazil
Kamilla, Volgograd, Russia
Hadise, Istanbul, Turkey
Unnamed Transgender Activist, Honduras
Christopher Jermaine Scott, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Terri Benally, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
Cesar Torres, El Paso, Texas, USA
Name Not Reported, Penang, Malaysia
Beyonce (Eric) Lee, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
Kanan, Setapak, Malaysia
Tyli'a Mack, Washington, DC, USA
Paulina Ibarra, East Hollywood, California, USA
Name Not Reported, Algiers
Kristina Muca, Tirana, Albania
Andrea Waddell, Brighton, England
Unidentified person, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Destiny Lauren, Kentish Town, London
Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado, Cayey, Peurto Rico
According to the PDF file located here: liminalis-2009-tmm-namelistjanjune2009-en, there were 9 murders of transgender people in Guatemala that occurred somewhere between January 1, 2009 and May 15, 2009
According to the PDF file located here: liminalis-2009-tmm-namelistjanjune2009-en, there were 18 murders of transgender people in Venezuela that occurred somewhere between January 1, 2009 and May 31, 2009