The top floor chapel at Dorset Gardens Methodist Church proved to be a perfect setting for Brighton’s annual Transgender Day of Remembrance Service, on Sunday, November 22.
The service was organised by Trans Alliance (TA), hosted by their co-chair Rory Smith and opened with a rousing rendition of the Rhythm of Life sung by the Rainbow Chorus, Brighton’s LGBT Community Choir, conducted by their musical director Aneesa Chaudhry.
Cllr Pete West, the deputy mayor of Brighton and Hove read apologies from the Mayor of Brighton and Hove, Cllr Lynda Hyde, who could not attend as she was representing the city at the Remembrance Service for the victims of the Shoreham Air Crash.
Cllr West said Brighton and Hove was seen nationally as a beacon of light for their treatment of trans people. He remembered the 271 transgender people who had died in the last twelve months and urged everyone to report all incidences of Hate Crime to the police.
Personal testimonies followed from Julia, Kate, Tyler, Charlie and Robin and Alex from the Allsorts Youth Project who spoke of the isolation suffered by many young trans people as many of the perpetrators of transphobia were often other young people.
Muriel from Croydon asked everyone not to forget trans people who were suffering from depression and Joanna Rowland-Stuart, the disabled representative on the Brighton and Hove LGBT Community Safety Forum said that the death of Vicky Thompson the trans woman who committed suicide on Trans Remembrance Day after being sent to an all male prison amounted to “legal manslaughter”.
Former court recorder, Katie from Portsmouth said she had started transitioning just two years ago and had enjoyed a “fantastic journey to date”. Katie said that the community in Portsmouth had rallied round her and given her plenty of support and encouraged everyone to be positive.
Luke then read poems written by Andrea Waddell, a trans woman who was murdered in Brighton in 2009. It was an emotional moment.
The Rev Robin Selmes then invited everyone present to come forward and create a wall of remembrance to all the trans lives lost in the last year.
He said: “Don’t forget the people whose names you put on the wall. If no one speaks up, nothing changes. Things need to change. Speak up for the 271 who cannot speak up. As you put the card on the wall say “I won’t forget you”.
The Rainbow Chorus sang a selection of numbers from Les Miserables as the wall of remembrance was created.
In closing Rory Smith thanked everyone who had helped produce the event and invited everyone for a cup of tea and biscuits supplied by Lunch Positive, who provide a community and social space for people who are HIV positive and a healthy meal every Friday at Dorset Garden Methodist Church.
The service was attended by Caroline Lucas the Green MP for Brighton Pavilion, Cllr Geoffrey Theobald, the Leader of the Conservative group on Brighton & Hove City Council, Cllr Phelim Mac Cafferty the Convener of the Green Group on Brighton and Hove City Council and Cllr Emma Daniel, the Labour Chair of the Neighbourhood, Communities & Equalities Committee on Brighton & Hove City Council.
Photographs taken by Stella Michaels Photography.
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