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Transgender victims remembered in Croydon

On Saturday (November 22) a group of transgender people and their allies met in Croydon Central Library to mark the deaths of each person who had been murdered in the previous year for being transgender.

Croydon Trans Day

THOSE PRESENT queued to light a candle for each of the 81 victims worldwide who had been murdered, as their names were read out by Rev. Art Lester, the minister of Croydon Unitarian Church and Fr Geoffrey Thompson from St Stephen’s Thornton Heath.

Croydon Trans Remembrance DayAccompanying leaflets listed the victims, some with photographs and the date and brief details of their murders, many of whom had met vicious deaths. After a minute’s silence those present went outside to lay flowers at a memorial placed by the Clocktower Centre steps for that purpose.

Earlier in the year spring bulbs had been planted at St Stephens’s Church, as a living memorial to the victims, and today, Sunday 23, some churches displayed white lilies to acknowledge the International Trans* Day of Remembrance 2014.

 

There were well over 250 Remembrance events worldwide. Some sources record well over 200 trans8 murders, though in some countries they go unmarked, and the true number is undoubtedly much higher.

Trans* Remembrance Day draws attention to the danger so many trans* people face every day, focusing on the worth of each individual, not the statistics.

The Croydon event was organised by TransPALS, the Croydon-based support group for trans people and Aurora, Croydon’s LGBT police consultation group .

For more information about TransPALS, click here: 

For more information about Aurora, click here:  

For more details of Trans Remembrance Day, click here:

Croydon Trans Remembrance Day

Photo and story submitted by Roger Burg.

Brighton marks Trans Day of Remembrance, today

The Community Memorial Service to mark International Trans Day of Remembrance in Brighton, takes place on Sunday, November 23.

Transgender Day of Remembrance

THE SERVICE will be at the Dorset Gardens Methodist Church, Dorset Gardens, Kemptown on Sunday, November 23, at 3pm.

Arrive at 2.45pm or a little earlier so the proceedings can start promptly.

The memorial is for trans* people worldwide who have been murdered or have suffered violence due simply to hatred towards their gender identity and gender expression. Although not every person represented during the Day of Remembrance self-identified as trans* each was a victim of violence based on bias against transgender people.

The event is poignant and particularly relevant to the local trans* community as only a few years ago in 2009, Andrea Waddell was murdered in her home in Brighton. Andrea was a talented young woman who was well liked, sociable and loved life.

The vigil will include speakers from the community and singing by the Rainbow Chorus. Attendees will be asked to ‘build’ the wall of remembrance by placing the names of the dead on the wall.

The vigil will also include a minute’s applause to acknowledge those who have died. Refreshments will be available immediately afterwards at the venue followed by a relaxed social at the nearby Marlborough pub.

The International Transgender Day of Remembrance is commemorated annually on November 20. This date was chosen in honour of an American woman, Rita Hester, who was murdered on November 28, 1998. Her death led to the Remembering Our Dead web project and the first candlelit vigil which was held in San Francisco in 1999. Like many transphobic murders, Rita’s remains unsolved.

Dorset Gardens Methodist Church the venue for the service hosts the weekly drop-in of the Clare Project. The memorial is a multi-faith one and is open and welcoming to everyone, regardless of faith or non belief. The venue is also wheelchair accessible.

The service is being organised by the Trans Alliance, a forum which brings together the trans* organisations of Brighton & Hove for mutual support and partnership working.

For more details about the Trans Alliance, click here: 

For more information about TDoR, click here:

For more information about the local trans community support view:

www.clareproject.org.uk 
www.ftmbrighton.org.uk 
http://www.allsortsyouth.org.uk/groups/trans-youth-network/

Trans*memorial wall, Brighton

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