November 20 marks the 11^th observance of Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR), dedicated to raising awareness about violence against transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals while remembering and honoring the victims of such crimes.

TDOR is held each November to honor Rita Hester, whose murder on November 29, 1998 led to the creation of the “Remembering Our Dead” web project and a 1999 candle light vigil in San Francisco. Hester’s murder—like the majority of transgender murder cases—has yet to be solved.

At least one transgender individual is murdered in the United States each month. A 1999 report of the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP), a nationwide survey of bias-motivated violence against LGBT people from 1985 to 1998, found that incidents targeting transgender individuals counted for 20% of all murders and about 40% of all police-initiated violence. These trends show no sign of abatement, In fact, according to a 2008 NCAVP report, incidents of anti-transgender bias increased 12% over the previous year.

News media should be overwhelmed with reports of anti-transgender violence. Those brutalized and murdered should be known by name in our communities. Outrage should spark protests and demands for legal protections and equal protections across the nation. Yet, silence continues to prevail. Even as we celebrate the passage of the trans-inclusive federal hate crimes law, it will remain up to the community to see that it is enforced. It will also continue to remain up to the community to remember and inherit the light of these individuals, as their murderers, law enforcement officials and the media seek to erase their existence. Tyli’a “Na Na Boo” Mack, a 21-year-old African-American transgender woman was stabbed to death in broad daylight in Washington, DC on August 26. Outside of advocacy circles, her memory has already largely faded into silence. An internet search yields only a few articles published in LGBT media outlets. Her murder also remains unsolved.

Why the silence? As a local community member explained, “The power structures of our society—legislature, courts, law enforcement, hospitals, schools, employers, etc.—communicate to the world, through their denial of basic services and courtesies to trans gender people that are automatically available to gender-conforming people that transgender people are not only socially “less than” so-called “normal” people, but that we don’t even deserve to have our basic survival needs yet—that we deserve to die. Is it any wonder, then, that we do die in such huge numbers?”

Many transgender individuals here in Maryland have lost their lives due to anti-transgender violence or medical neglect. While some individuals are known by name, it was not possible to compile a comprehensive list. These statistics have not been collected by and, hence, are not available from our local police department. And, the community itself, while a good source of information, harbors its own silences.

Members, family, friends and allies of Baltimore’s transgender community will gather
at City Hall (100 N. Holliday Street, Baltimore, MD 21201) on Friday, November 20 from 6:30 until 8:30 p.m. for Transgender Day of Remembrance. A candle lighting ceremony and reading of the names at the conclusion of the program will offer the opportunity community members to memorialize and celebrate the lives of those lost as a result of anti-transgender violence and prejudice. While seeking to inherit the light and memories of those lost, this year’s TDOR will also focus on building safer communities for transgender youth. As Sandy Rawls, TDOR organizing committee member and Director of Trans-United explained, “As we remember, we must also take the responsibility of doing the education ourselves. We need to work on healing divisions among us—economically, educationally, socially, racially—as we strive to educate the outside community and wipe away existing stigmas. Things will only change when people who feel as if there is a lack of justice for trans people do something about it.”

LGBT youth as a whole remain disproportionately represented among the homeless population, but this epidemic is even more widespread among transgender youth. Although, like their LGB peers, transgender youth find themselves homeless due to lack of affordable housing, physical abuse, mental health and addiction problems and familial estrangement, they have fewer legal protections from employment and housing discrimination and face additional barriers in accessing supportive services. As long as accurate identification documents remain a prerequisite for access to education, jobs, safe spaces and services, transgender youth will face additional barriers in their quest to lead safe and healthy lives.

Some reports indicate that one in five transgender individuals either need or are at risk of needing assistance from homeless shelters. Most shelters, however, remain segregated by birth sex and homeless transgender youth even find themselves ostracized by organizations that serve their LGB peers because of social service providers’ bias or ignorance. Hence, a number of homeless transgender youth feel from unsafe and hostile shelter environments back to the streets.  A lack of stable housing often leads to problems in finding or maintaining gainful employment. Hence, a number of transgender youth turn to risky survival and coping behaviors, such as survival sex or survival “crimes, which further increases their exposure to physical and sexual assault, violence and risk of exposure to sexually transmitted infections. Youth who find themselves reprimanded for their “crimes” by the criminal justice system, are met only with further violence and abuse.

Transgender adults face similarly rampant discrimination and violence, but youth and inexperience inevitably raise the stakes for trans-identified youth. This year, members of the transgender and allied communities will share their stories, provide education about services currently available for transgender individuals, discuss community-building opportunities and identify essential steps to creating safe, nurturing spaces for transgender youth.

All are welcome and invited to join the transgender community as they express love and respect for those who have died as a result of anti-transgender hatred and violence in the face of national indifference and hatred. All are welcome and invited to participate in envisioning a better future.

For additional information on Transgender Day of Remembrance, visit www.baltimoregaylife.com/news/tdor or call 410-837-7748 x13.