Two Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDoR) vigils on Monday will take place at New Life Metropolitan Church and at Old Dominion University. TDoR takes place every year on November 20 to commemorate those who have been murdered as a result of transphobia not only in Hampton Roads, but around the world.
TDoR was started in 1999 by transgender advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith as a vigil to honor the memory of Rita Hester, a transgender woman who was killed in 1998. The vigil commemorated all the transgender people lost to violence since Rita Hester’s death, and began an important tradition that has become the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance.
“Transgender Day of Remembrance seeks to highlight the losses we face due to anti-transgender bigotry and violence,” said founder Gwnedolyn Ann Smith. “I am no stranger to the need to fight for our rights, and the right to simply exist is first and foremost. With so many seeking to erase transgender people — sometimes in the most brutal ways possible — it is vitally important that those we lose are remembered, and that we continue to fight for justice.””
The vigil at New Life Metropolitan Church is Monday at 7 PM in partnership with the Transgender Assistance Program (TAP), Southeastern Transgender Resource Center, the LGBT Life Center, and Mudita Cafe and Bar.
The vigil at Old Dominion University takes place in the North Cafe of Webb University Center at 6PM and will be followed by the first ever TDoR Community Dinner.
