San Francisco, CA — The San Francisco trans community honors the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) with an online ceremony honoring those who have been lost due to anti-trans violence. The TDOR ceremony this year, titled “#MoreThanAHashtag”, will take place this Friday, November 20 at 6 p.m (PST).
The event will be hosted by Mo'Nique Campbell and streamed live on Facebook.The evening will feature inspiring guest speakers— including Amber Gray, Nicole Santamaria, and Xavier Davenport — and a special tribute to Monica Roberts, a long time national trans advocate who passed earlier this year. Also featured, a special performance by Breanna Sinclairé, world renowned transgender opera singer.
Transgender Day of Remembrance was founded in San Francisco 21 years ago by Gwendolyn Ann Smith and is now recognized around the world. The event brings visibility to lives lost to anti-trans violence. This year we have passed a grim milestone with 37 trans lives lost to fatal violence that has disproportionately impacted Black trans women and women of color.
“TDOR is a somber and important event where we reflect on our resilience as a community and remember those we have lost,” said Nicky Calma, Director of Programs and Community Engagement at San Francisco Community Health Center. “As trans people we are always under attack from various places and people, but we still take care of ourselves and each other and we create safe spaces whether in person or virtual to give meaning to our resilience and endurance.
This week the Trans Flag was raised over San Francisco City Hall in honor of the annual Transgender Awareness Month in November and the building will be lit up in the Trans Flag colors this evening in honor of Transgender Day of Remembrance. Learn more about Trans Month of Awareness here.
“Although this year’s events look different due to COVID, we are still coming together virtually to honor our community, build awareness, and to take action to end the epidemic of violence and discrimination facing trans people and the continued assault on Black trans women and trans women of color,” said Clair Farley, Director of the San Francisco Office of Transgender Initiatives. “Our work will not end until there is not one life lost to violence and hate.”
To learn more about the Trans Day of Remembrance please visit www.TDORSF.org.