Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) allows us to call attention to the continued violence and discrimination transgender people face every day. On and around November 20 across the globe, people gather in solidarity to mourn those who have been victims of anti-trans violence, and to ensure that their lives, and deaths, are not forgotten.

TDOR started in the wake of the November 1998 murder of Rita Hester and the transphobic media coverage of it in gay and mainstream media outlets that incensed the Boston area and national trans community. Hester’s killer as of this date has not been brought to justice. A vigil in San Francisco held on the one year anniversary of Hester’s death grew into the Transgender Day of Remembrance – an event that continues decades later.

The basic elements of a TDOR are the same no matter where the event happens: The names of trans people murdered from November 21 of the previous year to the date of this year’s TDOR are read as candles are lit in remembrance. TDOR is at its core, a memorial service – and an opportunity to rededicate ourselves to the task of ending anti-trans violence.

Join us on Tuesday, November 20, at 6:00 p.m. on the Quad Lawn at All Saints Church as we join with those around the world standing in solidarity with the members of the transgender community by honoring the lives of those we have lost as we continue to work toward justice and equality for transgender people.

If you can’t join us in person, here’s a link to the service to pray along at home.

For more information contact Debbie Daniels at 626.583.2750 or mailto:ddaniels@allsaints-pas.org.