Tomorrow, Nov. 20, is the Transgender Day of Remembrance, a national day established in 1998 to memorialize transgender and gender non-conforming individuals who have been killed because of who they are. The Day of Remembrance is also a day to raise public awareness and increase education about anti-transgender violence, and it’s a chance to renew our commitment to ending the prejudice and discrimination that leads to these crimes.
As a tragic reminder of why the Transgender Day of Remembrance is so important, one person being memorialized this year is Latiesha Green, a 20-year-old from Syracuse who was murdered just last weekend.
Another person being memorialized this year is Lawrence King, the 15-year-old California student who was murdered at school by a fellow student who was disturbed by King's gender identity/sexual orientation. King's story reminds us of the urgent need for the Dignity for All Students Act in New York to protect students from bias-based bullying.
Also, let's remember is Sanesha (Talib) Stewart, 25, who was stabbed to death at her home in the Bronx. Her neighbors' stories of her sweetness and self-acceptance urge us to fight on for the New York Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA).
There are Transgender Day of Remembrance memorials and educational events all over New York. Click here to find out more about events near you.
Sign up here to join the campaign for GENDA and here for Dignity for All Students, so that you can help bring us closer to the day that legal protections and social acceptance will overcome this hate.
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