Standing in a wide circle around the edges of the sanctuary at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church on Sunday afternoon, more than 80 community members held candles and read the names of some of the transgender individuals from around the world who were killed this past year.
International Transgender Day of Remembrance honors those who lost their lives because of transphobia. The Trans Murder Monitoring project reports that at least 295 transgender and gender-diverse people were killed in the last 12 months worldwide, however that number is “just the tip of the iceberg.” According to the organization, which tracks the data, the number is far from complete because it only includes cases where the victims are identified as trans in the reports of their deaths. The organization says most countries don’t track murders of transpeople, and in some places trans-identities are not openly acknowledged.
The walls of the sanctuary at the Anchorage event were covered with 295 brightly colored paper stars. Christina Eubanks-Ohana came up with the idea of covering the walls with stars and purposefully chose bright colors to honor how families will remember those who were lost.
They were “lost in such a tragic way,” she said, “and yet they will always be to [the families] those toddlers and those rambunctious children. I really liked that this was a vibrant way of remembering them.”
Event organizer Jessica Greene said the Day of Remembrance is about more than just acknowledging the victims. It’s also a call to action for the wider community to recognize and support trans people.
“It’s about using that privilege — whether it’s white privilege, male privilege, cisgender privilege — it’s using that privilege that we just get because we’re some way to really advocate for those who don’t get that privilege,” she said.
Antonette Harper, who spoke during the ceremony, said the best way to fight violence against the transgender community is to increase awareness because violence stems from fear of the unknown. “So for the rest of the transworld, my suggestion is don’t start hiding now, and silence is no longer golden.”
She said people need to know one basic thing: “That we are human. We are not some alien beings, you know, that are out to molest and abduct your children or steal your husbands. No, we are human beings,” she stated. “We live just like everyone else. We have jobs. We pay taxes. We vote.”
You can find out more about being transgender here.
Anne Hillman is the healthy communities editor at Alaska Public Media and a host of Hometown, Alaska. Reach her at ahillman@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Anne here.
