Transgender Day of Remembrance was founded in 1999 by transgender advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith as a vigil to honor the memory of Rita Hester, an African American transgender woman who was murdered in 1998. The vigil commemorated the lives of transgender and gender-variant people since Hester’s death and launched the commemoration into an annual U.S. and international observance. Transgender Day of Remembrance brings attention to the microaggressions, discrimination and violence that transgender and gender-variant people face on a daily basis, including transgender people of color in general and Black transgender people in particular, who experience transphobia, systemic oppression and deadly violence at disproportionate rates.
WSU Vancouver is in solidarity with Transgender Day of Remembrance. WSU Vancouver is committed to building a campus community where transgender and gender-variant students, staff, faculty and external partners are supported, welcomed and loved not despite of their multiple social identities, but because of them. WSU Vancouver's commitment to social justice and dismantling the status quo is reinforced by its strategic imperative to embed inclusion, equity and diversity in all aspects of campus endeavors. Several campus units, councils and resources assist in this effort, including the Center for Intercultural Learning and Affirmation, the Building a Community of Equity Program, the Collective for Social and Environmental Justice, the Council on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, Student Wellness Center, the Office of Equity and Diversity, and LGBTQ+ Resources Guide, to name a few.
On Transgender Day of Remembrance, WSU Vancouver acknowledges the lives of individuals from across the transgender and gender-variant spectrum; and recognizes efforts of Black, Indigenous and Latinx transgender people, who have been at the forefront of the quest to amplify voices and normalize presence of all transgender and gender-variant people and communities.
Throughout Transgender Day of Remembrance and beyond, WSU Vancouver advocates equity, safety, visibility, justice and empowerment for transgender and gender-variant people and communities. You matter here. You are welcome here. You belong here.
CILA: Transgender Day of Remembrance Gathering
3 p.m. Nov. 29
Firstenburg Student Commons
Honor Transgender Day of Remembrance by attending a vigil for lost transgender community members, discuss the experiences of transgender students, faculty and staff on campus, and gather as a community to celebrate and honor transgender community members.