For the first time in 5 years, the U.S. has a president who took notice of this day, of the death toll, and of the growing epidemic of violence against an already-marginalized community.
This year’s commemoration of the International Transgender Day of Remembrance is historic in a few ways: Never before in the 23 years since its origin have so many trans and gender nonconforming people lost their lives to violence. The Human Rights Campaign counts at least 47 names that will be read at ceremonies across the U.S. A 48th victim was reported by Sue Kerr of PGHLesbian.com on Saturday: Danyale Johnson,35, of Memphis, Tenn. Like the majority of those murdered, Johnson was Black and identified as a transgender woman. But even that’s not the whole picture. As Forbes.com’s Jamie Wareham reported earlier this month, the death toll around the world is at least 375, the deadliest year since record-keeping began. The other historic milestone is that the U.S. has a president in the White House who took notice of this day, of that death toll, and of the growing epidemic of violence against an already-marginalized community. “Today, on Transgender Day of Remembrance, we mourn those we lost in the deadliest year on record for transgender Americans, as well as the countless other transgender people—disproportionately Black and brown transgender women and girls—who face brutal violence, discrimination, and harassment,” said Pres.
