COMMUNITY
New Yorkers Honor Trans Folks Lost to Violence
In Greenwich Village, LGBTQ community marks the record 37 murders to date this year
Jennifer Louise Lopez, a transgender activist at Christopher Street Pier on Transgender Day of Remembrance on November 20.
TransNewYork held a candle-lit ceremony honoring the lives lost to transphobic violence.
BY TAT BELLAMY-WALKER
Activists bowed their
heads and closed their
eyes during the interfaith
prayer service.
Others screamed out the names of
slain trans people who were murdered
this year, and some stood by
in the cold with tears streaming
down their faces.
TAT BELLAMY-WALKER
Dozens of people gathered at the
Christopher Street Pier Friday evening
— a known haven for the city’s
homeless LGBTQ population. That
night, Greenwich Village was the
grounds for activists and mourners
alike for Transgender Day of
Remembrance, a yearly ceremony
on November 20 honoring the lives
lost from transphobic violence.
With 37 trans and gender-nonconforming
TAT BELLAMY-WALKER
people murdered to
date, the advocacy group the Human
Rights Campaign (HRC) reports
that it is seeing a record
number of trans deaths since it
began tracking this data in 2013.
Despite COVID-19 restrictions,
TransNewYork, an advocacy group,
led one of the evening’s only inperson
ceremonies. As vigil-goers
held candles to honor the dead,
the group required people to wear
masks and adhere to the state’s social
distancing guidelines.
“We could gather for this as long
as we have safety protocols,” said
Kelvin O. Howell, Jr., the group’s
deputy executive director and chief
of staff. “We lost many of our sisters
and brothers here.”
For Howell, these killings hit
close to home. All too often, he sees
trans people facing stigma in life
and death.
“We’re constantly at funerals for
trans people,” Howell said. “Families
are misgendering our sisters
and brothers in death, putting
them in the wrong garments…
People do what they want to do
with you after you pass away.”
Transgender and gender-nonconforming
victims are killed
by partners, acquaintances, or
strangers, reports HRC.
While HRC’s report highlights
that killings disproportionately affect
Black trans women, studies
show that transgender men and
non-binary people face signifi cant
risks, as well. A study published
last year by the Williams Institute,
an LGBTQ policy-focused think
tank at UCLA, shows high suicide
rates among trans men and nonbinary
people.
Experts say homelessness, unemployment,
survival sex work,
and widespread anti-trans stigma
across healthcare institutions,
workplaces, and school systems
appear to increase risks for violence.
These factors can make it even
harder for trans and non-binary
people to feel safe.
Jennifer Louise Lopez, a transgender
woman, said she often
fears being outed when applying
for housing.
“When I look for an apartment,
which I’m doing right now, I’m
scared that someone will fi nd out
that I’m a transgender woman and
kill me because of it,” said Lopez,
an event speaker, who touted a
trans-fl ag inspired face mask.
The vigil comes after a string
of transgender killings across the
country. Earlier this year, Tony
McDade, a Black transgender man
was shot by a police offi cer in Tallahassee,
Florida. Initial reports
deadnamed and misgendered
him.
In June, Dominique “Rem’mie”
Fells, a Black transgender woman
in Philadelphia was found fl oating
in a river with both her legs severed
above the knee.
The following month, Tiffany
Harris, a Black transgender woman
was fatally stabbed to death
in her Bronx apartment building.
The murder is suspected of being
linked to her gender identity.
Harris’ friend and neighbor,
Marcié Kumah, attended Friday’s
vigil. Kumah told Gay City News
they met up hours before Harris’
➤ DAY OF REMEMBRANCE, continued on p.23
November 26 - December 2,22 2020 | GayCityNews.com
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