Maybe because their names
and faces get lost in the grim glut of crime reporting. Maybe because no one knew their story—or
their secret. Maybe it’s
because the Guardians at the gate want to protect our tender sensibilities. Maybe
it’s because outside of “those people”
no one cares. Or maybe it’s because some see a kind of rough justice acted out on the streets
and prefer to let it go on as they used to whistle-by-the-graveyard
the dark at lynchings that kept Black folk in their place.
But someone must
remember these Transgender people murdered every year simply
because of who they are. According to transrespect.org
:
… a total of 369 cases of reported killings of
Trans and gender-diverse people between 1st of October 2017 and 30th of
September 2018, constituting an increase of 44 cases compared to last year’s
update and 74 cases compared to 2016. The majority of the murders occurred in
Brazil (167), Mexico (71), the United States (28), and Colombia (21), adding up
to a total of 2982 reported cases in 72 countries worldwide between 1st of
January 2008 and 30th of September 2018.
 |
|
The actual numbers are
likely higher. There is no uniform
reporting of crimes against trans and gender-diverse people ranging from those who have completed surgical reassignment,
those who identify with a gender
other than the one assigned at
birth, those who embrace gender
ambiguity, cross dressers, and drag performers who may be perceived as
trans regardless of their orientation.
Many police reports identify victims only by their genitals
and, especially in urban, crime plagued areas, most murders not involving
children, multiple victims, white,
or prominent victims are poorly
covered by the press.
Levels of violence
have risen in the United States but there is antidotal evidence that the general rise of intolerance and hate crimes
fostered by Donald Trump,
his Republican Party, and semi-hysterical right wing Evangelicals has
disproportionally affected those who are identified as Transgender, especially Blacks, Latinos, and other minorities
due to the double-whammy of the rise of White Nationalism.
Haters
respond
to none-to-subtle cues from Republican
state legislators and rightwing media. The former Presidential
mal-administration tried to define transgender identity “out of existence” and erase
civil rights protections for LGBTQ people.
Some
state laws now narrowly defining gender
as a biological,
immutable condition determined by genitalia
at birth, the most drastic
move yet in the effort to roll back recognition and protections
of transgender people under Federal
civil rights law.
Street demonstrations demanding safety and justice respond to the right-wing backlash against Trans rights and escalating violence.
The
Trumpist Justice Department rescinded Obama era protections for
Transgender individuals in prison despite irrefutable evidence
that placing prisoners in general populations based solely on
birth genitalia is an open invitation to assault, rape,
and even murder—precisely the outcome former Attorney General
Jeff Sessions had in mind.
Meanwhile
those red state legislatures worked over-time on their own attacks
including ludicrous Bathroom Bills, removing protections of trans students
in schools, and blocking or stripping out existing inclusion
in hate crime laws.
Black Trans women are over-represented by
percentage of the population among
American crime victims. Often tenuous
and sometimes strained relations between activists in the Trans, Black, Gay,
and feminist communities have
sometimes stood in the way of common action and protest.
Perhaps ironically the International Transgender Day of Remembrance had its origin with the murder of Rita Hester, transgender African-American woman murdered in Allston, Massachusetts on November 28, 1998.
Like so many memorial days do, an outpouring of community grief and anger led to a candlelight vigil held the following Friday, December 4 with 250 people in attendance.
Gwendolyn Ann Smith founded the International Transgender Day of Remembrance in 1999.
That vigil inspired
the Remembering Our Dead web project
and the International Transgender Day of Remembrance. Gwendolyn
Ann Smith, a transgender graphic
designer, columnist, and activist helped
organize the first public vigil in honor of all victims the next year in San Francisco in November of 1999.
Since then, the
observation has spread across the world.
This year here in McHenry
County, Illinois the Day of Remembrance will be commemorated at Stage
Left Café next to the Opera House in Woodstock from 5 to 7 pm
this evening sponsored by Woodstock Pride. See the Facebook Event .
The Unitarian Universalist Association vigorously supports Transgender rights. Many congregations will participate in vigils, marches, and demonstrations today and/or have special worship services this Sunday.
Many local, national,
and international organizations now participate in and promote the Day
of Remembrance. I am proud to say that
the Unitarian Universalist Association
and the Side of Love Campaign have
played a leading role. Many UUA
congregations dedicate some part of their services this time of
the year to the memorial.
