Room for All is humbled to share our 2022 Transgender Day of Remembrance Observance, made in collaboration with friends and supporters of Room for All. In addition to Room for All, we’re excited to highlight the National LGBTQ Task Force, doing advocacy and policy work across the country, and uplift the names of two important trans-led organizations: In Our Own Voices and Next Generation Men Of Transition. In Our Own Voices and Next Generation Men of Transition are both led by and provide direct support to transgender people of color in New York State, and we encourage all to support their programming and crucial work.
Observed annually on November 20th, Transgender Day of Remembrance is a day to mourn and honor the lives of the vibrant, beloved transgender, non-binary and gender non-conforming people lost to violence and suicide in the year prior.
After the murder of Rita Hester, a Black transgender woman in November of 1998, Gwendolyn Ann Smith, a transgender advocate, started TDOR in honor of her friend.
Each year, the transgender community reads the names— the true names— of our siblings, remembering them as who they were. 3 out of every 4 names we will read were misgendered, called by the wrong name and pronouns when remembered or reported on by police, the media, and their families of origin. Disproportionately, the majority of lives lost are transgender women of color, caused by the intersection of racism, misogyny and transphobia.
It is not enough to merely acknowledge the losses, but rather we must honor the memories of our trans siblings with a new commitment to action. That might look like consistently shutting down anti-transgender rhetoric in conversation with your neighbors, partnering with your local LGBTQ+ Resource Center to offer assistance in whatever capacity you can, or vocally opposing the myriad of hostile anti-transgender bills attempting to become law across the United States. The growing violence this community faces thrives in the silence of our allies.
Room for All’s TDOR Resources
Available immediately is Room for All’s Guide for Transgender Day of Remembrance. This guide includes an overview of TDOR, suggestions for creating truly safe spaces for transgender and non-binary people, a Biblical reflection and prayer, Resources for the Trans Community and information about the Reading of the Names as well as two trans people of color led organizations doing year-round advocacy.
On the evening of Saturday, November 19th, we will be posting our video observance for Transgender Day of Remembrance that will be available to view on our Facebook page @RoomforAllRCA and on this page from that point on.
Either as part of or after worship on Sunday, 11/20, we encourage our churches and communities to view this observance if not participating in another this year.
The full size download of this bulletin cover (pink and blue flowers) and insert (global list of names) can be used to mark the day.
The list of names of lives lost in 2022 is here, from the Remembering Our Dead project. The list of names has been simplified, but includes the links to the profiles of each person. Visiting those links or the project site will give you the details of each death, and may be disturbing.