GENY’s Virtual Transgender Day of Remembrance

Please make plans to join us on Sunday November 15th at 7PM for GENY’s first virtual Transgender Day of Remembrance.

As you may know, the Transgender Day of Remembrance is a significant and emotional annual event for our community. The event was created to memorialize those who were killed due to criminal acts of violence due to anti-transgender hatred. The event is held in November to honor Rita Hester, whose murder on November 28th, 1998, initiated the “Remembering Our Dead” web project and a San Francisco candlelight vigil the following year. Rita Hester’s murder, like most transgender hate crime murder cases, has yet to be solved.

Although not every person represented during the Day of Remembrance self-identified as transgender (a person whose personal identity does not match the sex assigned at birth), each was a victim of violence based on prejudice and hate against transgender and non-binary people.

The Transgender Day of Remembrance serves several purposes:
It raises public awareness of hate crimes against transgender people, an action that current media doesn’t properly perform in any significant way. It publicly mourns and honors the lives of our community members who might otherwise be forgotten. Through the vigil, we express love and respect for our people in the face of national indifference and hatred. And it reminds cisgender people (people whose personal identity matches the sex assigned to them at birth) that we are their children, parents, lovers, friends, co-workers, and neighbors. The Day of Remembrance gives our allies a chance to step forward with us and stand in vigil, memorializing those of our community who’ve died by transphobic violence.

We are bringing this emotional, and moving memorial to our community and our allies, during these dark days of isolation, with the hope that each of us will take a moment for personal reflection as we remember the lives lost this past year.

As part of the event we are honored to have three distinguished community advocates who will deliver their thoughts on the times and world we live in:

Ari Moore, longtime Buffalo community advocate, with a diverse career in art, law enforcement, education, and advocacy.
Kym Dorsey, lifelong resident of Albany, and the first trans woman honored by the City of Albany during Black History Month for her leadership in Albany and around the State.
Shateer Douglas, Community Health Specialist at the Western NY Pride Center as well as activist, photographer, musician, and poet.

Following these important Trans Voices, we will honor those we have lost as GENY Board Members read their names aloud.

A closing by Reverend Audette Fulbright Fulson, of the Unitarian Church of All Souls NYC, completes the event.

WARNING: As we read each honored name, we will be stating the explicit and horrific details surrounding their murder. We believe that only by speaking openly and honestly about what happened, can we force the media and public to fully observe, report and understand the impact that transphobia has on our society. By speaking hard truth, we hope to turn the tide of hatred and rejection into love and respect. We understand upfront that the graphic descriptions may be too severe for some people. We ask that you consider this before making your decision to join us. 

Event Details
GENY’s Virtual Transgender Day of Remembrance Memorial
Date:    Sunday, November 15^th
Time:    7 PM

In planning this Memorial, we are taking aggressive steps to ensure the event will be secure and safe from outside interference. As a result, we will be asking you to register for this event. Once you receive your personal registration code, do not share it with other people. Have them register to receive their own personal link.

Register in advance for this webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_kB0xs5yFTyKoiE4ynh3zFg
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
We hope you will join us and bring your friends and family for an important event that will honor those we have lost, while bringing truth and understanding to our society.
Stay safe!

Juli 
Juli Grey-Owens
Board Chair & Executive DirectorPronouns: she, her, hers

Gender Equality New York
Supporting the Transgender, Non-Binary and Intersex Communities thru Advocacy, Education and Empowerment

https://genderequalityny.org/
https://www.facebook.com/GenderEqualityNY/