For my second queer immersion/excursion, I attended the International Transgender Day of Remembrance event hosted by The Gender Identity Center of Colorado (GIC). This event took place in the auditorium of East High School on November 20th. In the past year, there have been over 20 murders of transgender individuals, predominantly women of color. The Transgender Day of Remembrance signifies a day where we honor the individuals who have lost their lives to anti-transgender violence. At this event, there were four speakers: Julia Condolora (Vice president of GIC), Sable Schulz (Transgender Program manager at The Center), Emma Shinn (GIC board member), and Jessie Goodwin (President of GIC). In addition, there was even an all trans community choir called The Phoenix that performed a few of their own songs.
A theme that reappeared among the various speakers was the call to action and emphasizes the importance of community. Schulz pointed out that despite the obstacles that the trans community has faced throughout the years, we can’t forget how far we’ve come and how much we have accomplished. Furthermore, by showing up to this event, we are standing in solidarity with the trans community and continuing to fight for justice. Many of the speakers also mentioned the current administration and how although they are scared, we must not give up hope and continue to fight. Something that Emma Shinn said that really resonated with me is the power of stories. Shinn states, “it is hard to hate someone when we know their story,” and pointed out that only “67 percent of Americans do not know someone that is transgender.” A lot of these murders were committed by people who do not take the time to get trans individuals and when we don’t know a person’s background or story -- “it makes it easier to hate them.”
Every day, all around the world, trans individuals are being murdered simply for being who they are. At a time “when the Trump administration and others want to pretend that transgender people are a new phenomenon,” we need to show them that trans individuals are human beings too and deserve to be acknowledged and respected (NBCNews). The Transgender Day of Remembrance creates a space where we can all come together to show our support. At this event, we didn't just celebrate the lives of trans folks who died in the U.S., but we also honored those lost around the world. Founder of Transgender Day of Remembrance Gwendolyn Ann Smith states, “with so many seeking to erase transgender people -- sometimes in the most brutal ways possible -- it is vitally important that those we lose are remembered, and that we continue to fight for justice.” At the end of the event, Shinn discussed the murder of Carla Patricia Flores-Pavon who was strangled to death. Shinn then told the audience that it takes four minutes to strangle a person -- then she paused for 30 seconds and asked the audience to imagine being strangled for three more minutes. Afterward, she asked the audience to imagine being hated so much that our life was literally sucked out of us.
In a year where over 20 trans individuals have lost their lives to violence, we must continue to stick together and continue to support each other. Leslie Feinberg reminds us that, “when we put forward a collective list of demands together and fight to demand each other from attacks, we frequently win” (Feinberg, 105). Although the road ahead won’t be easy, embracing each other and being there for each other is the first step towards the road to achieving queer justice.
A theme that reappeared among the various speakers was the call to action and emphasizes the importance of community. Schulz pointed out that despite the obstacles that the trans community has faced throughout the years, we can’t forget how far we’ve come and how much we have accomplished. Furthermore, by showing up to this event, we are standing in solidarity with the trans community and continuing to fight for justice. Many of the speakers also mentioned the current administration and how although they are scared, we must not give up hope and continue to fight. Something that Emma Shinn said that really resonated with me is the power of stories. Shinn states, “it is hard to hate someone when we know their story,” and pointed out that only “67 percent of Americans do not know someone that is transgender.” A lot of these murders were committed by people who do not take the time to get trans individuals and when we don’t know a person’s background or story -- “it makes it easier to hate them.”
Every day, all around the world, trans individuals are being murdered simply for being who they are. At a time “when the Trump administration and others want to pretend that transgender people are a new phenomenon,” we need to show them that trans individuals are human beings too and deserve to be acknowledged and respected (NBCNews). The Transgender Day of Remembrance creates a space where we can all come together to show our support. At this event, we didn't just celebrate the lives of trans folks who died in the U.S., but we also honored those lost around the world. Founder of Transgender Day of Remembrance Gwendolyn Ann Smith states, “with so many seeking to erase transgender people -- sometimes in the most brutal ways possible -- it is vitally important that those we lose are remembered, and that we continue to fight for justice.” At the end of the event, Shinn discussed the murder of Carla Patricia Flores-Pavon who was strangled to death. Shinn then told the audience that it takes four minutes to strangle a person -- then she paused for 30 seconds and asked the audience to imagine being strangled for three more minutes. Afterward, she asked the audience to imagine being hated so much that our life was literally sucked out of us.
In a year where over 20 trans individuals have lost their lives to violence, we must continue to stick together and continue to support each other. Leslie Feinberg reminds us that, “when we put forward a collective list of demands together and fight to demand each other from attacks, we frequently win” (Feinberg, 105). Although the road ahead won’t be easy, embracing each other and being there for each other is the first step towards the road to achieving queer justice.
Thank you for your post! I'm so glad you were able to attend this event off campus. It is a powerful one to witness and participate in.
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