Since 1998, Nov. 20 has been a day to honor victims of “transphobia” and gender-nonconforming violence.
When activist, writer and transgender-community member Gwendolyn Ann Smith founded the Transgender Day of Remembrance, she could only hope that its impact would be felt around the world.
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Gwendolyn Ann Smith, above, founded the day in 1998 to honor victims. Janet Mock, below, will speak about PSU’s Trans Day of Remembrance.
“When I first started the project, I felt like no one would take this seriously, that the community itself would never turn out for it, that it would get no attention at all,” Smith said. “But when I walked up the steps at the Castro Street BART station and into Harvey Milk Plaza, and saw a group of people ready to participate, I saw a community that was willing to stand for something.”
In 2010, the event was observed in more than 185 cities in more than 20 countries.
This year, activist Janet Mock will come from New York City to spearhead PSU’s observance. Mock was named one of The Grio’s 100 most influential people, GBMNews’ “15 Most Powerful LGBT Figures” and Sundance Channel’s top 10 LGBT voices. The event will be held in the Smith Memorial Student Union Ballroom from 6–7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 20.
The event is being held as a tribute to the members of the transgender community who have died because of violence related to their identity. A list of their names will be read aloud to remind us that they are gone but not forgotten, said Kirsten Keith, one of the coordinators of the event.
“The trans population is very resilient and enduring to face the amount of violence and victimization out there and to still put on these events,” Keith said. Both Keith and Cooper Lee Bombardier, another advocate of the transgender community, agree it is easy to get caught up in the Portland “bubble” and forget about the day-to-day violence and discrimination going on in the rest of the world.
“It’s really important to come together as a community,” said Cathlene McGraw, Queer Resource Center coordinator. McGraw believes events like this help the student body confront the oppression facing transgender individuals that has not been covered by the media.
“Most of PSU is unaware [of] the level of devastation against the trans community nationally and internationally,” she said.