Lifting Up Voices on Transgender Day of Remembrance

Last updated on: November 21, 2015 at 10:38 pm by Crystal Blanton

Lifting Up Voices on Transgender Day of Remembrance 2015-11-21T22:38:44-05:00 Crystal Blanton

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“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”– Martin Luther King, Jr.

“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.” – Desmond Tutu

“There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.” – Elie Wiesel

Today marks the 16th annual Transgender Day of Remembrance, originally started by Gwendolyn Ann Smith in 1999. In honor to the increasing and disproportionate death and harm to transgender people within the world, I decided to post a series of posts and videos for Transgender Day of Remembrance. There have been transgender people murdered all around the world, 23 of those killed in 2015 were trans women in the United States. A large amount of those 23 were also trans women of color. (These are the ones that have been reported thus far). The Advocate published the names of those killed in 2015, in the United States, and I am including them here.

Keyshia Blige (33 years old), fatally shot in Aurora, Ill., on March 7, 2015.
Tamara Dominguez (36 years old), repeatedly run over by a vehicle in Kansas City, Mo., on August 15, 2015.
Kandis Capri (35 years old), fatally shot in Phoenix, on August 11, 2015.
Amber Monroe (20 years old), fatally shot in Detroit, on August 8, 2015.
Ashton O’Hara (25 years old), stabbed to death and run over by a vehicle in Detroit, on July 14, 2015.
Shade Schuler (22 years old), cause of death unknown, found dead in a field in Dallas, on July 29, 2015.
K.C. Haggard (66 years old), stabbed multiple times in Fresno, Calif., on July 24, 2015.
India Clarke (22 years old), shot multiple times in Tampa, Fla., on July 21, 2015.
Mercedes Williamson (17 years old), beaten to death in Rocky Creek, Ala., on May 30, 2015.
Penny Proud (21 years old), fatally shot in Tremé, New Orleans, on February 10, 2015.
Taja Gabrielle DeJesus (36 years old), stabbed multiple times in San Francisco, on Feburary 8, 2015.
Bri Golec (22 years old), stabbed to death in Akron, Ohio, on February 13, 2015.
Lamia Beard (30 years old), fatally shot in Norfolk, Va., on January 17, 2015.
Papi Edwards (20 years old), fatally shot in Louisville, Ky., on January 9, 2015.
Elisha Walker (20 years old), beaten to death in Smithfield, N.C., on August 14, 2015.
Jasmine Collins (32 years old), stabbed to death in Kansas City, Mo., on June 23, 2015.
London Chanel (21 years old), stabbed to death in North Philadelphia, on May 18, 2015.
Ty Underwood (24 years old), fatally shot in North Tyler, Texas, on January 26, 2015.
Yazmin Vash Payne (33 years old), stabbed multiple times in Los Angeles, on January 31, 2015.
Kristina Gomez Reinwald (46 years old) stabbed to death in Miami, Fla., on February 16, 2015.
Zella Ziona (21 years old), fatally shot in Montgomery Village, Md., on October 15, 2015.
Maya Hall (27 years old), killed by police in Fort Meade, Md., on March 30, 2015.
Kiesha Jenkins (22 years old), fatally shot in Philadelphia, on October 6, 2015.

A huge number of transgender people were also killed in Brazil. Other countries that have had such incidents this year also include Cuba, Spain, Japan, the U.K. and Pakistan. This is all of our fight. Lift up their voices….. Say their names. And let’s not only care when people die. Let us all remember, connect and celebrate and protect the humanity and beauty of trans people in life, not just mourn them in death.

Listed below are three videos… Due to privacy and technical problems, I was not able to embed them into this point. But they are incredible enough to include regardless. The first one is from California State University East Bay and includes stats and information about why this should matter to us all. The second video is a buzzfeed that has several transgender men and women speaking about their lives and the challenges. The third video is a good friend Elena Rose, who is an advocate in the trans community and in the Pagan community. She is also a fellow board member of Solar Cross Temple. Her words are moving beyond description…. about the pain and the desire of community as a trans woman. And the final video (which is embedded) is of trans people speaking in a video from GLAAD.

Please join me in honoring this day by listening to the voices of the trans community… and lifting those voices up.

Trans* Lives MatterThe Diversity and Inclusion Student Center has a special message for the Trans* community at Cal State East Bay. #CSUEBTDOR #saytheirnames Posted by CSUEB Diversity and Inclusion Student Center on Friday, 20 November 2015

Trans Day Of Remembrance“There is still so much work to be done.” #TDOR Posted by BuzzFeed LGBT on Friday, 20 November 2015

Elena Rose from Girl Talk speech

Elena Rose: https://vimeo.com/39768974

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