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Transgender Day of
Remembrance
[Download
pdf]
IMAGINE
that in the
U.S. on an average of every 15 days a Gay or
Lesbian was a vicitim of a brutal Hate Crime Murder. And that
each year the number of hate crime murders increased, with very
few being solved, most sensationalized by the press and many
ignored by the police or plea bargained by the prosecutor. I
presume you would be outraged, shocked, ready to take to the
street with your voices, even your bodies, to stop such
Homophobic Hate and Violence!
Well substitute the
word Transgender for Gay or Lesbian and Imagination
Becomes Reality! A very sad and tragic reality. Below
are the names of those gender expressive individuals murdered
over the last nine [9] months!
Ricardo Sindy Cuardo CA Shot
Multiple Times 09/30/2003
Emonie Kiera Spaulding
DC Shot to
death 08/20/2003
Bella
Evangelista DC Shot to
death 08/16/2003
Selena Alvarez
IA Stabbed to
death 07/31/2003
Nireah Johnson
IN Shot to
death 07/22/2003
Cinnamon (Kendrick)
Perry] TX Shot to
death 07/20/2003
Michael Charles Hurd
TX Shot to death
06/18/2003
Tanesha Starrr
Thomas AL Stabbed to death
05/22/2003
Jessica Mercado
CT Stabbed Multiple Times, body burned
05/09/2003
Mimi
Young DC Stabbed to death
04/09/2003
Danisha Williams
FL
Murdered
02/28/2003
Nikki Nicholas
MI Shot to death
02/21/2003
Timothy “Cinnamon”
Broadus FL Shot Multiple
Times 01/08/2003
Tamyra Michaels
MI Shot to
death 12/21/2002
Roberta Nizah Morris
PA Beaten to death with a
crowbar 12/24/2002
Such murders due to
anti-transgender hate and violence are becoming
pandemic—approaching two murders nationally a month! And each
murder is horrific in nature, with many against our youth [17,
18, 19, …]. Such Transphobic hate crimes are not just against transgender people, but anyone who
transgresses the so called acceptable masculine/feminine norms
of our society. These could be your children, your brothers,
your sisters, your parents, your friends, your co-workers, your
neighbors, you! In fact one was your neighbor – Jessica
Mercado of New
Haven.
On November 20th
Vigils will be held around the Globe to remember those in our
community who have been brutally murdered simply because they
dared express their gender! These Vigils are being held as part
of the 5th Annual Transgender Day of Remembrance.
There will be a number of vigils held here in Connecticut:
Hartford, New Haven and
Middletown, as well as by a number of GSA’s and other cities.
We, as part of an Inclusive, Diverse, Caring and Loving
Community, ask you to participate in one of these vigils – To
Remember those tragically taken from their families, their loved
ones, their friends and from our Community. We cannot allow
these senseless murders to become just another statistic. They
must become a continued reminder of the need to be united
- with a full voice and spirit committed to stop hate and
violence and to put an end to intolerance and bigotry – of any
kind!
Matthew Shepard was tragically
murdered and a Nation mourned and was outraged. Through unity
the community fought and won many advances against such hateful
bias and violence. Now our transgender sisters and brothers are
being murdered at a near pandemic rate and though it is a
different letter, it is a Family in our diverse and beautiful
community – A Family of similar faces and oppressions as well as
many differences. And again as families, as a Community, as a
State, and as a Nation we must UNITE against this Hate. For
only as a United and Inclusive Community will all our families
win the struggle for Equality and the right to express our
identification and expression! Please Stop the Hate –
Educate, Legislate and Remember!
For
details of the
Connecticut vigils visit
www.transadvocacy.com and click on Day of Remembrance. To
visit the International Transgender Remembering our Dead website
visit
www.rememberingourdead.org
Please contact
dor@transadvocacy.com if your organization would like to be
a co-sponsor of these Connecticut based Vigils or if you would
like more information. |
