The Transgender Day of Remembrance has been celebrated throughout the country since 1999, when activist Gwendolyn Ann Smith created the day to memorialize Rita Hester, a transgender woman murdered in Allston, Massachusetts.
In recent years, organizers have commemorated the day with events in Charlotte, and will gather outside of city hall (the corner of North Davidson and 4th streets) to mourn the transgender people killed over the last year with a candlelit vigil tonight beginning at 6 p.m.
Well-known genderqueer activist Jacob Tobia arrived in Charlotte this morning and will be the keynote speaker at the event. Tobia was recently featured as a subject in MTV’s reality docuseries True Life: I’m Genderqueer, and just this week Jezebel published a long-form Q&A with them.
For Parker Smith, transgender youth outreach organizer with Time Out Youth, tonight’s event will serve multiple purposes.
“To me, it is a time of mourning for us and at the same time it’s a call to action,” Smith said. “It’s a way to remind us that we have a very long way to go and still need to fight for those of us who are still alive.”
According to the Human Rights Campaign, at least 21 transgender people have been murdered this year in the United States, more than any other year on record. It is believed that at least 271 killings have happened worldwide, though many transgender killings aren’t reported as such.
In August, a 20-year-old transgender woman named Elisha Walker of Rowan County was found dead in a “crude grave” in Johnston County, more than 100 miles from her home. Twenty-three-year-old Latin King member Angel Arias was later arrested and charged with her murder.
When I asked Smith, who identifies as a non-binary transgender person, if they feel safe going out in the community, they raised the point of intersectionality and how it plays into safety.
“I think I am very lucky, because I do feel quite safe here, but to be very blunt that is because I’m not a trans woman and I am white,” Smith said. “The majority of the names on the list (of those killed) are trans women of color. For me, it’s not as much of an issue as for many of the trans women in this city.”
Lara Nazario, a local artist and musician who was also one half of Creative Loafing’s “Pride Power Couple” in August, also helped organize tonight’s event. She is a trans woman of color. Nazario said she is always aware of when it’s unsafe to be open about her identity.
“I always worry about passing because I never really feel fully safe and I’m always aware of where I am and what neighborhood I’m in,” she said. “I like to be open so I can educate people but at the same time there are tons of places where passing is definitely a privilege. I have to balance out how open I am and how much I take advantage of my ability to blend in.”
Organizers hope tonight can lead to a year or action in which transgender people are more recognized in Charlotte, which will lead to less vulnerability.
“I think going back to LGBTQ protections in the city of Charlotte, including the bathroom ordinance, is important,” Smith said. “Time Out Youth and other nonprofits continue to try to educate the community and try to give the support they need because there’s a lack of resources in this city and that’s one of the scariest things.”
This article appears in Nov 18-24, 2015.
Transgender homicides, 2015: 21
Total homicides, 2015: 14,950
Percentage of all homicide victims who are transgender: 0.1%
Estimated percentage of Americans who are transgender: 0.3%
Transgenders are being killed at a lower rate than non-transgenders.
Garth Vader’s hatred and fear of anyone who is different than him, particularly minorities, the poor and the disenfranchised, is truly revolting. He’s like Charlotte’s own version of the Westboro Baptist Church. If CL had any dignity, it would remove his insensitive comment from this page before any transgender people see it and realize they are once again being told their lives don’t matter.
Leo Lyttle
Yeah, how dare anyone even MENTION a segment of hate crime murders in the face of statistics that say its not exactly an epidemic (this year, assuming all have been reported as such). Thanks GV, I thought maybe these murders were something worth caring about, but you’ve shown me the error of my naive bleeding heart ways. Please do remind us of statistics like these on any article you come across, whether the author made an assertion contrary to your point or not.
“easily-disprovable lies”? Great! To disprove my “lies,” does this mean you’ll finally stop cowardly hiding behind a fake name and come forth and then demonstrate how you are indeed the best friend of minorities, the poor and the disenfranchised? Excuse me if I don’t hold my breath waiting for that day to ever come.
Also, “I posted official government statistics and offered no opinions.” Sorry, but by posting, you clearly offered your own opinion. Most people reading this would feel empathy and not even worry about percentages. But your homophobic, sexist, racist, etc. mind always sees articles like this and immediately thinks, “What?! How dare someone not be focused on ME and people just like me? How dare people care about other people who aren’t just like ME? Waah! I want my country back!” Pathetic.
Oh, really? I suppose I could send you my Social Security number. But nice how you avoid everything I wrote. Must be hard watching the world progress and leave you and your bigoted kind behind.
“Leo”,
You ignored my statistics and immediately threw the level of the conversation into the gutter with endless smears, insults and accusations:
HATRED
FEAR
REVOLTING
INSENSITIVE
HOMOPHOBIC
SEXIST
RACIST
No facts, no logic, just unhinged invective.
By the way, EVERY person is a “(person) just like me”: they’re all human. I don’t put people into boxes based on any demographic; I see them as individuals.
Sure you do; that’s why you thought it was so, so important to point out that “Transgenders are being killed at a lower rate than non-transgenders” rather than offer support or sympathy. Please.
“According to the Human Rights Campaign, at least 21 transgender people have been murdered this year in the United States, more than any other year on record.”
Most people: “That’s despicable and sad.”
Garth Vader: “Waaaahh! Who cares? I’ll learn them so people realize it’s people like ME we should all be concerned with!”
“Leo”, you do realize that demographic-specific events like “Transgender Remembrance Day” are the epitome of limiting sympathy to “people like XXX”, right?
Unlike you, most of us have the ability to not limit our sympathy and empathize with others different than us, not take umbrage when an event pays tribute to an underrepresented minority.