News
Transgender Day of Remembrance
Transgender Day of Remembrance is an annual observance of those whose lives were lost in acts of anti-transgender violence.
The day started in 1999 by transgender advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith in honor of Rita Hester (pictured here), a 34-year-old trans woman who was killed in 1998. Rita was brutally attacked in her own home and stabbed 20 times in the chest. To this day, no arrest has ever been made in response to Rita’s case. In response to her murder, the community led a candlelight vigil. The vigil, in which around 250 people participated, commemorated all lives lost due to transgender violence since Rita’s death. This vigil has now become an important annual tradition to take a moment to honor those who have lost their lives.
Pause, remember.
Starting on Nov. 20 until Thanksgiving Day, Bader Rutter will take a pause from social media channels to take a moment of silence in memory of all those lives lost this year. We encourage you to do the same. Please click on the image for a social graphic available for your use on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Please take a look at some of these resources below on how you can learn more and do more.
Human Rights Campaign – Violence Against the Transgender Community in 2019