The Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDoR), also known as the International Transgender Day of Remembrance, has been observed annually from its inception on November 20 to
memorialize those who have been
murdered
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse committed with the necessary intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisdiction. ("The killing of another person without justification or excu ...
as a result of
transphobia. The day was founded to draw attention to the
continued violence directed toward
transgender
A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth.
The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...
people.
Transgender Day of Remembrance was founded in 1999 by a small group, including
Gwendolyn Ann Smith,
Nancy Nangeroni, and
Jahaira DeAlto, to memorialize the murders of Black transgender women
Rita Hester in
Allston, Massachusetts, and
Chanelle Pickett in
Watertown, Massachusetts
Watertown is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, part of Greater Boston. The population was 35,329 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Its neighborhoods include Bemis, Coolidge Square, East Watertown, Watertown Sq ...
.
After Hester's death in 1998, Smith was surprised to realize that none of her friends remembered Pickett or her murder three years prior, saying "It really surprised me that it had already, in a short period of time, been forgotten, and here we were with another murder at the same site.”
The first TDoR took place in November 1999 in Boston and San Francisco, as both Hester and Pickett's deaths occurred in November.
TDoR continued to be observed annually on November 20, the anniversary of Pickett's murder.
In 2010, TDoR was observed in over 185 cities throughout more than 20 countries.
Typically, a TDoR memorial includes a reading of the names of those who died from October 1 of the former year to September 30th of the current year, and may include other actions, such as
candlelight vigils, dedicated church services, marches, art shows, food drives, and film screenings.
GLAAD (formerly the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) has extensively covered TDoR, interviewed numerous transgender advocates (including actress
Candis Cayne), profiled an event at the
New York City LGBT Community Center, and discussed media coverage of TDoR.
History
Rita Hester (November 30, 1963 – November 28, 1998) was a
transgender
A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth.
The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...
African-American woman who was murdered in
Allston, Massachusetts, on November 28, 1998. In response to her murder, an outpouring of grief and anger led to a candlelight vigil held the following Friday (December 4) in which about 250 people participated. The community struggle to see Rita's life and identity covered respectfully by local papers, including the ''
Boston Herald
The ''Boston Herald'' is an American conservative daily newspaper whose primary market is Boston, Massachusetts, and its surrounding area. It was founded in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States. It has been awarde ...
'' and ''Bay Windows'', was chronicled by
Nancy Nangeroni. Her death inspired the "Remembering Our Dead" web project and the Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDoR).
Chanelle Pickett (1972–1995) was a Black trans woman who was murdered in
Watertown, Massachusetts
Watertown is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, part of Greater Boston. The population was 35,329 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Its neighborhoods include Bemis, Coolidge Square, East Watertown, Watertown Sq ...
on November 20, 1995.
Her death inspired many actions, including several vigils and the creation of a group dedicated to preventing violence against trans people, called "Remember Chanelle" which was formed on December 18, 1995. Similar to Rita Hester's murder, Chanelle Pickett's murder was chronicled by Nancy Nangeroni
and also inspired the "Remembering Our Dead" web project and Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDoR).
Monique Thomas (March 30, 1963 – September 1998) was a Black trans woman murdered at her home in
Dorchester, Massachusetts
Dorchester () is a Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood comprising more than in the city of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Originally, Dorchester was a separate town, founded by Puritans who emigrated in 1630 from Dorchester, Dorset, E ...
. Her murder was discussed alongside the murders of Rita Hester and Chanelle Pickett in "Remembering Our Dead", a web project
that led to the creation of International Transgender Day of Remembrance.
Although Monique's death was not mentioned often during the initial creation of the day, she is now frequently mentioned in articles that discuss the ongoing impact and observance of Transgender Day of Remembrance.
Reception

Scholars and activists committed to advancing
intersectional approaches to trans politics continue to highlight the importance of seeing
transphobic violence as inherently connected to race, gender, and class. This is reflected in the disproportionate instances of violence against trans women of color in general, Black and Latina transgender women in particular.
Theorists
C. Riley Snorton and
Jin Haritaworn critique how images and narratives centering on the deaths of trans people of color—most often
transfeminine bodies of color—are circulated within social movements and spaces headed by white gay and trans activists, such as TDoR. Reflecting on the case of African American trans woman
Tyra Hunter, Snorton and Haritaworn observe the dangers of positioning trans women and transfeminine bodies of color as legible only in the aftermath of their deaths, and failing to see such violence as effects of both systematic
transphobia and
racism
Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...
. Resonating alongside (but not limited to) trans activists
CeCe McDonald,
Reina Gossett,
Sylvia Rivera, and
Dean Spade, Snorton and Haritaworn's work advocates for the importance of an intersectional approach to events such as TDoR and
transgender activism in general.
Scholar
Sarah Lamble argues that TDoR's focus on a collective mourning risks producing the white spectator as innocent of, rather than complicit in, the violence that produces the deaths of trans women of color they are mourning. Lamble states that:
Transgender activist
Mirha-Soleil Ross criticizes TDoR for conflating the motivation behind the murders of transgender women
sex workers. In an interview with scholar
Viviane Namaste, she presents examples of transgender sex workers who were murdered in Toronto for being sex workers and accuses the organizers of TDoR of using these women who died for being sex workers as martyrs of the transgender community.
Recognition by governments
Canada
The
Canadian province
Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North Amer ...
of
Ontario
Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
unanimously passed the Trans Day of Remembrance Act, 2017 on December 12, 2017, officially recognizing TDoR and requiring the
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA; ) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by the Legislative Assembly are given royal as ...
to hold a minute of silence every year on November 20.
United States
In 2020,
US president-elect Joe Biden
Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
recognized the Transgender Day of Remembrance and said the
transphobic violence experienced by
trans women is intolerable. In 2021, Biden and Vice President
Kamala Harris
Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 49th vice president of the United States from 2021 to 2025 under President Joe Biden. She is the first female, first African American, and ...
issued a statement saying, "At least 46 transgender Americans were killed by acts of fatal violence to date this year".
His office also issued a report outlining "How the Biden-Harris Administration Is Advancing Safety, Opportunity, and Inclusion for Transgender and
Gender Diverse Individuals." Moreover, Biden called on the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
to pass the
Equality Act.
Antony J. Blinken, United States Secretary of State, also issued a statement mourning the loss of trans lives in 2021. As the chief American diplomat, he stated, "Promoting and protecting the human rights of LGBTQI+ persons is a
foreign policy
Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...
priority of this Administration."
On November 18, 2021, on the
House
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...
floor, Representative
Ayanna Pressley read the names of 46 trans people murdered that year.
Pressley was joined by other members of the
Congressional Equality Caucus">GBTQ+Equality Caucus that included Representatives
Marie Newman,
David N. Cicilline,
Mark Takano,
Sara Jacobs, and
Al Green.
See also
*
*
Day of Silence
*
Hate crime
*
International Transgender Day of Visibility
*
List of LGBTQ awareness periods
*
List of people killed for being transgender
*
Trans Day of Action
*
Transgender history
*
Transgender rights movement
References
External links
International Transgender Day of Remembranceat GLAAD
Transgender Day of Remembrance – Manchester, UK* Smith, Gwendolyn Ann
"Transgender Day of Remembrance: Rita Hester and Beyond" ''Huffington Post'', 2013-11-20.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Transgender Day Of Remembrance
Articles containing video clips
Civil awareness days
International observances
LGBTQ-related observances
November observances
Recurring events established in 1999
Transgender events
Violence against transgender people