Today is the annual Trans Day of Remembrance. We wish to take this moment to honour the trans folx whose lives were lost to violence.
We stand with you. We support you.
Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) commenced in 1999 by transgender advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith as a vigil to honour 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.
TDOR raises public awareness to the hate crimes against transgender folk. It is a day to publicly mourn and honour the lives of our community members, and through the TDOR vigil, we express our love and respect for our people in the face of public hate and indifference.
Between October 1, 2019 and September 30, 2020, 350 murders of trans and gender-diverse people were registered worldwide. Today we honour them by saying their names.
Please join USSU-Pride Centre, USSU Students’ Union, TransSask Services, OUTSaskatoon, and Saskatoon Pride on Friday, Nov. 20, 7:00 pm CST, for the TDOR observance on Zoom (use this link: https://zoom.us/j/94978084487).
