Transgender activist Monica Helms reads the names of the dead as part of a recent Transgender Day of Remembrance. Dozens gather each year on or around Nov. 20 to honor transgender people who have died or been killed. (File photo)
MORE INFO Transgender Day of Remembrance Nov. 20, 8 p.m. Georgia State Capitol www.transgenderdor.org
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Nov 14, 2008  |  By: DYANA BAGBY  | COMMENTS |   |  

After honoring the Transgender Day of Remembrance for 10 years, Tracee McDaniel says it never becomes easier.

“It’s always emotional for me, but it’s always good to see we have support,” said McDaniel, executive director of the Juxtaposed Center for Transformation.

McDaniel is an organizer of Atlanta’s Transgender Day of Remembrance ceremony, set for Nov. 20 at the State Capitol.

Each year on Nov. 20, cities across the globe take time out to remember transgender people who were killed or died because of who they are. Remembering their names once a year is an important way to mark the discrimination transgender people face on a daily basis, McDaniel said.

“We just need to keep awareness out there that there is discrimination against transgender people and until we get some kind of legal protections, employment protections, we will continue to raise awareness,” she said.

This year’s theme for the vigil is “Community Uniting for a Greater Cause” because, McDaniel said, “we are all one community regardless how we identify.”

The election of Barack Obama to be the president is an encouraging sign for transgender people as well as all people, McDaniel said. Obama has said he supports a fully inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act, as well as a hate crimes bill that would include protections for transgender people.

“This is a very hopeful moment in time for everyone and we’re inspired and encouraged by his qualifications to be inclusive of everyone,” she said.

As in years past, the Atlanta City Council will issue a proclamation honoring Nov. 20 at the Transgender Day of Remembrance. The proclamation was introduced and signed by Council member Anne Fauver, the only openly gay member of the council. Fauver is also expected to speak at the ceremony.

The proclamation reads, in part, “It’s an annual tradition to bring together transgender, lesbian, gay and bisexual people for a common cause. Transgender Day of Remembrance participants fully support and vote for federal civil rights protection legislation that will help reduce social and cultural discrimination…”

This year, the Juxtaposed Center is working with the Feminist Outlawz, Atlanta Gender Explorations, Transgender Individuals Living Their Truth and YouthPride to hold the candlelight vigil at the Capitol and the traditional reading of the names of those who have died.

As of Nov. 11, the Remembering Our Dead Project reported a total of 20 reported transgender killings for 2008 — 13 people in the U.S. and seven people overseas.

Since 1970, when records began to be kept, the project has reported 284 deaths in the U.S. and 126 deaths internationally.

Those being remembered this year as part of the Transgender Day of Remembrance include Lawrence King of Oxnard, Calif., a 15-year-old boy who liked to wear women’s clothes, who was shot in the head by a fellow classmate; Simmie Williams Jr., 17, who was shot to death in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and found wearing women’s clothes; and Angie Zapata, 18, of Greeley, Colo., who was brutally murdered by a 31-year-old man who became enraged when he learned she was a biological male.

“The only change will come is when we receive hate crimes protections and basic civil rights that are not afforded to us,” McDaniel said. “Right now, we are not seen as part of the human race. But we are all in this together. There’s a place for all of us.”