Ten Years of Transgender Remembrance

Thursday marks one decade of acknowledging the Transgender Day of Remembrance, with celebrations and vigils being staged all across the country.

Allyson Robinson, the Human Rights Campaign's associate director of diversity, says this year was one of the worst on record for transgender people.

“The most highly publicized murders in the transgender community this year had included Lawrence King and Angie Zapata," she said in a statement on Thursday. "Then last week we learned that Duanna Johnson, the transgender woman who in July was bludgeoned by police officers, had been murdered execution-style on the streets of Memphis. And just this week came word of he shooting death of Latiesha Green in Syracuse, N.Y., by someone she had only met hours before. All told, at least 15 transgender people have been murdered in hate crimes in the U.S. this year alone.”

The Federal Bureau of Investigation does not keep records on hate crimes performed because of a person's gender identity. However, data for 2007, the latest available, indicates that 15.9% of hate crimes were due to the victim's sexual orientation.

Zapata wanted to become a professional cosmetologist and drag performer in Denver. She was just 18 when she was found dead on July 17 in her Greeley, Colo., apartment. Her accused killer, Allen Andrade, was charged with murder as a hate crime in August, after admitting to police that he had "killed it." The hate-crime charge can add an extra 18 months to his sentence if he is convicted.

Bridges McRae, a former Memphis police officer has been charged with beating Johnson while she was in police custody. Johnson was being booked for prostitution in February. McRae, 28, and his partner James Swain, 25, were both fired after video surfaced of the beating. Despite the video, McRae has pleaded not guilty.

Dwight DeLee, 20, has been charged with murdering 22-year-old Green, and prosecutors are considering whether he will additionally be charged with a hate crime. Green and her brother Mark were invited to a party, but people were bothered by the fact that Green was transgender, according to WSYR News. When they pulled up in their car, DeLee approached them, shouting profanities. According to authorities, went back inside the house and returned with a gun, shooting at Green and Cannon. The bullet hit Green in the chest, and Cannon drove her to University Hospital in Syracuse, N.Y. where they she was pronounced dead.

The Transgender Day of Remembrance started in November 1998 to honor Rita Hester, a local Boston rock scenester who was brutally murdered in her apartment. The first vigil was held in Boston as a response to her death, with 250 people gathering to march through the streets. The following year, numerous cities joined Boston in remembering others who have been lost to violence. (Michelle Garcia, The Advocate)

Reader Comments

These comments are reproduced as written by visitors to this Web site. They have not been edited for content, grammar, or spelling. The viewpoints appearing here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or views of advocate.com, The Advocate, or its affiliates.

Name: Pauline Park
Date posted: 2008-11-21 10:19 PM
Hometown: New York, NY

Comment:

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) did not start the Transgender Day of Remembrance, nor is HRC a credible source of information or comment on either the TDOR or transgender issues more generally. In fact, HRC's support for the version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act -- opposed by United ENDA, a coalition of more than 400 LGBT and non-LGBT organizations throughout the country -- that did not include gender identity or expression but which passed the House of Representatives in 2007 has undermined what little credibility HRC may still have had among transgender activists and transgender-supportive LGB activists as well. While I commend the Advocate for covering the issue of transgenderphobic violence, I would strongly encourage your editors and reporters to look for more credible sources of information and comment on transgender issues than HRC. Pauline Park Chair New York Association for Gender Rights Advocacy (NYAGRA)

Name: Dr. Mekah Gordon, Ph.D.
Date posted: 2008-11-21 3:58 PM
Hometown: Santa Fe, NM

Comment:

The HRC has most abominable and uncommitted record for Transgender Unequivocal Equality. Take a stand for honest and truthful "Equality" for the Transgender Community by NOT supporting the HRC! Donate to the NCTE (National Center for Transgender Equality). In addition: Every GLBT United States Citizen along with their Straight Allies must demand that our Government provide the establishment and solidification of our Constitutional Right, for Unequivocal Equality! No one on this planet, has the right to tell anyone who they should love and/or marry, NO ONE! Standing firm in solidarity to defeat unprogressive thinking, insisting on the complete separation of Church and State, ceasing relentless mean spirited in your face discrimination, is not only our duty as Human Beings, but as Patriots for Equality! Peace, Solidarity & Unequivocal Equality ~ Dr. Mekah Gordon,Ph.D. Pioneering, Frontier Renaissance Woman and Visionary

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