Transgender Day of Remembrance Nov.20

Tomorrow, Nov. 20, Portland State’s Queer Resource Center will host a series of events to celebrate the Transgender Day of Remembrance.

Celebrated internationally, the QRC’s Transgender Day of Remembrance function supports the transgender community of Portland by hosting events geared toward education and advocacy, according to Erin Glesne-Smith, health and wellness coordinator at QRC.

The event began in 1999 to honor Rita Hestor’s death, which, like most anti-transgender murder cases, is unsolved, according to the Gay-Straight Alliance Network.

Since then, the Transgender Day of Remembrance has expanded internationally. This year gatherings are happening in dozens of cities around the world, from Sydney, Australia to Minsk, Belarus, according to www.transgender.org.

“The Transgender Day of Remembrance brings awareness to an issue that doesn’t get a lot of attention on a lot of levels,” said Smith.

Clothing swap: 3 p.m., QRC
The occasion kicks off with a clothing swap organized by QRC student group Queers and Allies. The clothing swap is open to the public and is, according to Smith, a fun way to get cheap clothing—but don’t forget to bring some clothing to give.

All clothing is welcome and can be brought in either to be swapped for another piece of clothing or it can be donated. Any clothing that has not been claimed by 5 p.m. will be donated to Outside In, which supports homeless youth.

“We’re lucky to have such an organization in Portland,” Smith said of Outside In.
According to its Web site, Outside In has operated for the past 40 years to help homeless youth and other marginalized people move toward improved health and self-sufficiency.

Trans Resource Fair: 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., Multicultural Center
The QRC community and on-campus partnerships for the Transgender Day of Remembrance will be most visible in the second event of the day with the Trans Resource Fair.

“This event involves groups like Portland State’s Sexual and Gender Equality Task Force, Student Health and Counseling and community resources,” Smith said.

Students may swing by the event to pick up transgender resource booklets, compiled by the QRC to aid students who are seeking LGBT resources on and off campus.

Candlelight vigil: 6 p.m., Multicultural Center
“To me, the most moving event of the day is the candlelight vigil and the reading of the names,” said Smith, who has attended the event the past two years.

QRC Volunteer Coordinator Natalia Kay agrees.

“The vigil raises visibility and awareness of transgendered men and women who have been killed in hate crimes with a reading of their names,” said Kay.

The candlelight vigil involves speeches by Executive Director of TransActive Jenn Burleton and Tash Shatz, SHAC Advisory Board member.

Following the vigil will be a reading of the names of the men and women who have been victims of transgender hate crimes within the past year.

“The candlight vigil and the reading of the names is always incredibly impactful. I still have vivid memories of the first time that I went to the event and was just so touched,” Smith said.

As an organizer of this year’s event, she hopes to share that emotional impact with as many people as possible in order to make the event as impactful as it can be.

Event performances
The Transgender Day of Remembrance culminates in a celebration with two performance groups. The first is the Athens Boys Choir, a one-man, spoken-word performance that deals with issues of gender, politics, love and sex.

The second performance will be from the critically acclaimed Katastrophe, a San Francisco-based rapper who lists “people who risk everything because they believe in themselves” among his inspirations on his MySpace page.

This celebration is a newly developed part of the Transgender Day of Remembrance.

Other ways to get involved
Apart from attending this event, Portland State students can pursue a number of avenues to become involved in transgender issues. The Oregon Student Equal Rights Alliance is currently soliciting contributions to its annual campus climate report.

According to their Web site, the report is a student-led study on Oregon college campuses to discern attitudes and trends towards the LGBT community.

Students interested in the transgender community or any LGBT activities are encouraged to visit the QRC, located on the fourth floor of Smith Memorial Student Union.

This on-campus resource provides an inclusive safe space in advocating for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning students, staff, faculty and their allies.