Memorializing transgender and two spirit lives lost

Third Transgender Day of Remembrance ceremony held by SAMRU

By Anna Junker, News Editor

The third Transgender Day of Remembrance ceremony was held in Wyckham House on Nov. 20. The day memorializes those who have been killed by anti-transgender violence around the world.

Those who died between Nov. 20, 2016 and Nov. 20, 2017 had their names read aloud during the ceremony — 287 people in total.

This year commemorates the 18th annual Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDoR) since its inception in 1999.

The day to recognize those lost to anti-transgender hate and prejudice was founded by activist Gwendolyn Ann Smith after Rita Hester, a black transgender woman, was found murdered in her apartment in Allston, Massachusetts.

Hester’s death followed that of a highly publicized murder of Matthew Shepard, a young gay man killed in Wyoming.

Those who died between Nov. 20, 2016 and Nov. 20, 2017 had their names read aloud during the ceremony — 287 people in total.

However, Hester’s murder received little media attention, which inspired Smith to start TDoR and honour Hester’s life along with the hundreds of other transgender people killed around the world each year.

The day of remembrance has since slowly evolved from a web-based project to an international day of action.

Only one Canadian transgender person has been accounted for on the TDoR site, whereas in the United States, a new report from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation details there are more transgender deaths in that country than ever before, with 25 people so far in 2017 having been killed.

According to the report, the violence is due to anti-LGBT prejudice and racism, which has fueled “political attacks on the transgender community,” such as President Donald Trump’s attempt to block transgender people from joining the military.

The study also shows that since the 2016 presidential election, there has been an increase in anti-transgender rhetoric and hate crimes in the U.S.

Last year, the pink, white and blue transgender flag was raised outside of the McDougall Centre in downtown Calgary for the first time.

Calgary became the third city in Canada behind Whitehorse and Lethbridge to install the transgender flag as a crosswalk. It was painted at an intersection along 17th Avenue and 4th Street S.W. as a lead-up to Calgary Pride on Sept. 4.

Graphic created by Robyn Welsh and Andi Endruhn

However, the crosswalks didn’t come without controversy. In both Whitehorse and Lethbridge, just days after the rainbow pride and transgender flag crosswalks were painted, they were vandalized with tire marks and black paint.

Yet with the implementation of Gay Straight Alliances in schools and the recent passing of Bill-24 in the provincial legislature which essentially makes it illegal for a teacher to out a child, these instances will hopefully be in the past.

Every step forward in the right direction is a further step away from a bigoted past.

In the meantime, it’s important to memorialize the lives lost and recognize there is still a long way to go to achieve equality.

For TDoR this year, the Student’s Association of Mount Royal along with the Pride Centre honoured the transgender and two spirit lives lost along with the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG).

The event commenced with a smudge and prayer ceremony followed by a healing song. Participants then went on a guided walk through campus followed by a short ceremony and reception.