Today is Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR), a day when we honor the lives of those who were lost to acts of anti-transgender violence. TDOR was started by transgender activist Gwendolyn Ann Smith after the 1998 murder of Rita Hester, a well-known performer and Black transgender woman, in Massachusetts. According to the Transgender Violence Tracking Portal, more than 200 murders of transgender people were reported internationally since 2013 observance of TDOR.
As part of bringing attention to the violence that largely impacts transgender women of color, MTV News, Logo, and MTV Act shared graphics and information about TDOR on social media, and directed their followers to resources about being transgender as part of their "Look Different" campaign. MTV News also ran a story profiling three transgender women – Rita Hester, Angie Zapata, and Islan Nettles – who were killed in acts of anti-transgender violence, and discussing why we observe TDOR.
Earlier today, "Look Different" hosted a Twitter chat about TDOR with Mara Keisling, Executive Director of the National Center for Transgender Equality (@TransEquality), Alok Vaid-Menon (@DarkMatterRage), a genderqueer spoken-word poet and activist who is part of the "Look Different" Good Look panel, and Daniella Carter (@msdcarter), a transgender woman who was featured in "Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word."
#TDORchat: Why do you think that violence experienced by trans people isn't getting more attention?
— Look Different (@LookDifferent) November 20, 2014
.@LookDifferent@LogoTV Because trans people, specifically people of color, are seen as disposable, erased, and insignificant #TDORchat
— DarkMatter (@DarkMatterRage) November 20, 2014
#TDORchat: What can people do to help shed light on the issue of violence faced by trans people?
— Logo TV (@LogoTV) November 20, 2014
@LogoTV#tdorchat showing that trans lives are just as important an not only on Tdor .
— Daniella (@msdcarter) November 20, 2014
Find out more about TDOR at www.glaad.org/tdor and www.tdor.info.