There are many reasons why people in the LGBTQ+ community gather. Pride events held throughout the year all over the world, protests against the injustices we still suffer today, observances of the anniversary of significant events, or rallies that aim to pierce a moderate quiet with a chorus of voices; these are all acts of rebellion against a system that has marginalized us, and it is in the power of our voices and actions that we strike back against that opponent. It is by gathering together and making it impossible to ignore us that we draw out a space in the world where we can stand firmly and demand better of our peers.
Tonight, we gather for a different reason. It is appropriate that this ceremony should be held later in the year, when the nights are colder, and we find ourselves drawn to somber thoughts and fleeting comforts, because the Transgender Day of Remembrance is not a spectacle. It is not a weapon against oppression, but a memorial, and a time to grieve for those who are no longer with us. It is a time to be reminded of the quiet fears that, for many of us in this room, our friends have in the back of their minds the whole year round. For some of us, it is a time to unbury those same fears and test our mettle against a wave of names that could, one day, include our own.
We do this for the same reason that any memorial is held: to remember the easily forgotten, and to hold accountable the reasons that brought about an early end to their lives. This year, there are over 300 names on a list because they were transgender. Because they were transgender and a person of color. Because they were transgender and a sex worker. Because someone was taught to hate those words and hate their bodies.
We hold this memorial because, 19 years ago, a woman, Rita Hester, was murdered. We hold this memorial because, three years before that, another woman, Chanelle Pickett, was murdered and nearly forgotten. We hold this memorial because, for many of us in this room, fear of our difference is enough to justify the end of our lives and, without a memorial, indifference to our plight is enough to forget our memories.
In the words of Gwendolyn Ann Smith, the founder of the Transgender Day of Remembrance:
“This day we mourn our losses and we honor our precious dead — tomorrow and every other day, we shall continue to fight for the living.”
I would ask of each of us to think about how we are fighting for the living, not just on days of ceremony but in the small actions we make every day. I would ask of each of us to think about how we honor our precious dead, not just on days of ceremony but in the small actions we make every day. Think about the fallen, if only to strengthen your resolve for those still alive.