Letter: Reflecting & Resisting on Transgender Day of Remembrance
Killian Coveney reflects on the origins of Transgender Day of Remembrance, and why it's still important to recognize and demonstrate allyship today.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
The following submission was read aloud by Killian Coveney at the Trans Flag Raising ceremony at Owen Sound City Hall earlier this week.
On November 28th, 1998, Rita Hester was murdered. Rita Hester was a black trans woman who lived to have a good time. She was involved in Boston’s rock scene, frequented Jaques, a gay bar that often hosted drag, loved to eat and gossip, and was well-admired and loved. Her story runs deeper and richer than I can share in these few moments. Her murder is still unsolved to this day.
The next year, Gwendolyn Ann Smith, a transgender woman from San Francisco, was discussing on the first online trans space, the Gazebo, about how similar Rita’s murder was to the murder of Chanelle Pickett. Both were African American trans women from Boston, with similar disappearances.
However, no one in the forum was aware of the case. This inspired Gwendolyn to create the Remembering Our Dead project, which tracks the acts of fatal violence against trans people. The next year, using the information collected through the Remembering Our Dead project, the first Trans Day of Remembrance was held in San Francisco and Boston.
That inspired many more ceremonies around the world, including this one today.
According to the 2021 Canadian census, there are over 100 thousand trans and non-binary people 15 or older. That is about one in every 300. For Owen Sound’s population of 21 612, that’s about 70 gender diverse people.
Those 100 thousand gender diverse people are three times more likely to have suicidal thoughts, and six times more likely to attempt suicide than the general population. That is a lot.
About a month ago, an anonymous tip to the Waterloo Regional Police service cancelled Beers with Queers, and forced Spectrum, a 2SLGBTQ+ community space that hosts peer support groups and events, to move online. This was a threat that included a call to violence.
The investigation is currently closed due to a lack of information. This has led to Spectrum and other organizers to ramp up security, but has also inspired more events that help bring the community together and make sure we feel safe.
Shortly before these events, a fire determined to be a targeted arson in Kitchener has led to the suspicious disappearance of Eli Wood, a trans person who is studying at Wilfred Laurier. If you have any information on his disappearance, please contact the WRPS or Crime Stoppers. If you are able, please consider donating to his family’s GoFundMe to help cover the costs of travel between Ontario and Nova Scotia while the search continues.
Now this is a last-minute addition to my speech. Just last week, Wendi Nicholson, the president of the Windsor-Essex Pride Festival made some incredibly transphobic comments regarding the International Olympic committee’s consideration of banning trans women from competing in women’s sports. She has since resigned, but it is troubling that someone of that status is so willing to say such misinformed, hateful rhetoric.
Transphobia is still so prevalent in current society, and these are not isolated incidents. It’s a factor into how high our suicide rates are. The world is so stressful right now, and to be constantly hearing stories like this is hard. To be seeing the comments on social media, or by members of governments, or even just at work. It hurts the heart, and makes people fearful about transitioning or pushes people back into the closet.
So how do we help keep trans people safe and prevent more unnecessary deaths? How do you support us? More than I can say here, but showing up here is one of the easiest steps you can take.
Standing here shows that you are listening, and are willing to stand beside us. Connect with members of your community. Consider going to more events like this, or dropping in to a PFLAG meeting.
Contact members of the city, municipal, provincial, and federal government and let them know that the increasing hate needs to be addressed and that trans people need more support.
Have a curious and open mind that is willing to learn and grow and admit mistakes. If you are able, donate to programs like Grey Bruce Pride’s gender gear library.
If you see an act of hate, do not be a bystander, stand up. To be silent is siding with our oppressors who use that silence to spread their hate.
To my trans siblings in the crowd, I am so sorry the world is the way that it is right now, but do not lose hope. Do not back down, and certainly do not comply with the people that want us silent, out of the public eye, and dead. Our joy is an act of resistance.
Be loud, be proud, but please be safe, and take care of yourself. If you are in need of resources, please feel free to come up and speak with me; I may be able to point you in the right direction.
Thank you,
Killian Coveney
Letters to the Editor do not necessarily reflect the opinions or beliefs of The Owen Sound Current and its editor or publisher.