The annual Transgender Day of Remembrance takes place every Nov. 20 to honor and remember those lost to acts of violence, as well as recommit to the battle for transgender rights.
GLAAD says the day was created in 1999 by "transgender advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith as a vigil to honor the memory of Rita Hester, a transgender woman who was killed in 1998."
This year, Cincinnatians can pay tribute to those we've lost by attending a special Illumination Vigil at Pleasant Ridge's St. Peter's United Church of Christ.
So far in 2020, the Human Rights Campaign says at least 37 transgender and gender non-conforming people have died in acts violence. This includes local Riah Milton, a Black transgender woman who was killed in Liberty Township in June.
The vigil starts at 4 p.m. and attendees are asked to wear masks and socially distance with their own households. Please bring a flashlight to "to ’shine a light’ on injustice," and honor the names of those who have been killed.
Rev. Derek Terry, pastor of St. Peter's UCC, says, via email:
“Due to the objectification of transgender people and wrongly held negative feelings toward them, often justice is never served and cases are not solved in the killings of and violence against transgender people. This is not only an issue in ‘big cities’ as some people might think. These violent acts against transgender people take place right here in Cincinnati. The deadliest year of fatal violence towards transgender people is being overshadowed by the news of this year. Moreover, so many of the negative impacts of this year (COVID-19, economic fall out, unemployment, alcoholism, etc.) have disproportionately hurt the most vulnerable in our society. Trans people are the most vulnerable.”
St. Peter’s UCC is located at 6120 Ridge Avenue, Pleasant Ridge. For more info, visit facebook.com/stpeterscinci.
