Transgender Day of Remembrance — and Resilience
Each year on November 20, we recognize Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR), a time to pause to reflect on the many lives lost to anti-trans violence. Gwendolyn Ann Smith founded TDOR to honor her friend, Rita Hester, a trans woman who was murdered in November 1998. It’s a chance to, as Smith has written, “publicly mourn and honor the lives of our brothers and sisters who might otherwise be forgotten” and to “express love and respect for our people in the face of national indifference and hatred.”
We have seen a lot of anti-trans indifference and hatred in recent years from the highest levels of our government. Under the current Secretary of Education, for example, federal rules protecting the rights and safety of transgender students at school have been rolled back — putting into question trans students’ ability to participate in sports and other opportunities, or even to use the bathroom at school. Other rules securing trans peoples’ rights have been reversed in the areas of housing access, healthcare, prisons, immigration, military service, and more. This administration even ordered the removal of questions about trans identity in the 2020 U.S. Census, rendering the trans community invisible in future decisions about spending, Congressional representation, and infrastructure programs.
In the face of these relentless attacks, many are beginning to call TDOR the Transgender Day of Resilience, celebrating the remarkable strength of trans people in withstanding an onslaught of violence and discrimination. Regardless of the name, it’s incumbent on all of us to make this day a clarion call to raise awareness and take action. We must create a world where trans people can be safe and expect equal treatment. Family Values @ Work is building a movement for working families that is trans-inclusive and supports the leadership of trans and nonbinary people. Through our Family Justice Network, we advocate for a definition of family that includes trans people and their families, whether based on blood or affinity. We are collaborating with trans leaders and allies to create an economy and a society where historic patterns of discrimination are uprooted, everyone’s contribution is valued, and all types of families can thrive.
TDOR founder Gwendolyn Smith noted that TDOR “gives our allies a chance to step forward with us.” With trans peoples’ rights and lives at stake, today is the time to take those steps.
