The LGBT Resource Center has planned a Transgender Day of Remembrance vigil on Nov. 20, the day of the nationally recognized holiday. The vigil will take place at the campus Lake House at 4:30 p.m.
“The event organically emerged as a response to trans folks being deadnamed and misgendered, even after death,” said LGBT Resource Center Program Coordinator Emma Wuetrich in an email.
Transgender Day of Remembrance is nationally recognized as “a day to commemorate the transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming persons who are targeted and killed for living authentically and courageously,” according to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a statement about the holiday.
According to a report by the Human Rights Campaign, 33 transgender and gender non-conforming individuals were victims of fatal violence in the United States from Nov. 21, 2022, to Nov. 20, 2023.
“Hosting the vigil is important because anti-trans violence is devastating and underreported,” Wuetrich said.
The HRC reported 335 total victims of fatal violence against transgender and gender non-conforming people since 2011 when they began to keep track of the numbers.
85% of total victims are people of color, according to the HRC.
“Transgender persons experience disproportionately high levels of homicide and assault. Their families and loved ones too often see no justice,” Blinken said.
Black transgender women are disproportionately affected by fatal violence, accounting for 75% of all victims of fatal violence against transgender and gender non-conforming people.
"The vigil always ends with moments of silence after reading the names of those lost, so their real, affirming names are said out loud across the country," Wuetrich said.
The vigil is a part of EMU’s Trans* Compassion Week, from Nov. 18-22.
“We intentionally host our Trans* Compassion Week during that time to include programming of reverence and joy in gender diversity,” Wuetrich said.
Trans* Compassion week at EMU includes events like Day of Action Tabling, Crafting with Compassion, and the Pop-Off Clothing Swap, along with the Day of Remembrance Vigil.
More information about Trans* Compassion Week and the Transgender Day of Remembrance Vigil can be found on the program’s website.
“It is everyone’s responsibility to ensure trans persons can live full lives of dignity, without fear of violence or harm,” Blinken said in the statement. “Until then, we will continue to speak loudly and clearly to end transphobic violence and homicide.”
