This blog post is by R.G., a member of the Pride Team.
November 20th is a somber day for the trans community. It is known as Transgender Day of Remembrance, a day to commemorate the trans lives lost to violence in the past year. Every year, names are read aloud at gatherings around the world. We honor their names, their lives, their humanity. Since November of last year, 51 trans lives were lost to violence in the US alone, and that’s just the ones that were recorded. So many trans people continue to face misgendering and dismissal, even after their deaths.
The numbers show that even within the trans community, violence disproportionately affects certain members. Most of the lives lost we know of are of BIPOC. Most of them are trans women. Those living at the intersection of marginalized identities continue to face the most violence.
So little is being done to change the situation of anti-trans violence. Recognizing the lives lost is only a very small first step. We need to create a world in which trans people, especially trans women of color, are valued and celebrated in life, not just commemorated in death. Until we create that world together, we continue to see an ever-growing list of names.
Here are some of those names, gathered from tdor.translivesmatter.info:
- Sydney Leigh Phillips ("Syd"), age 22, died November 5, 2024
- Name Unknown, died November 7, 2024
- Kyla Jane Walker, age 39, died November 10, 2024
- Quanesha Shantel ("Cocoa"), age 25, died November 10, 2024
- Ra'lasia Wright, age 25, died December 1, 2024
- Roy Mora, age 15, died December 7, 2024
- Aziza Barnes ("Z"), age 31, died December 15, 2024
- Cam Thompson, age 18, died December 16, 2024
- Meka Shabazz, age 46, died December 23, 2024
- Jonny Adamow, age 29, died December 31, 2024
- Parker Savarese, age 15, died January 8, 2025
- Elisa Rae Shupe, died January 27, 2025
- Aubrey Dameron, age 25, died January 31, 2025
- Tahiry Broom, age 29, died February 11, 2025
- Sam Nordquist, age 25, died February 14, 2025
- Ervianna Johnson, age 25, died February 16, 2025
- Amyri Dior, age 23, died February 21, 2025
- Linda Becerra Moran, age 30, died February 27, 2025
- Jordan "JJ" Maye, age 17, died March 8, 2025
- Katelyn Rinnetta Benoit, age 15, died March 24, 2025
- Kaitoria Le’Cynthia Bankz ("Kai"), age 31, died March 31, 2025
- Norah Horwitz, age 38, died April 7, 2025
- Kelsey Elem, age 25, died April 24, 2025
- Shy'Parius Dupree, age 32, died May 17, 2025
- Karmin Wells, age 25, died May 24, 2025
- Charlotte Fosgate, age 17, died May 25, 2025
- Jonathan Joss, age 59, died June 1, 2025
- Tessa June, age 21, died June 4, 2025
- Jax Gratton, age 34, died June 6, 2025
- Hope Lyca Youngblood, age 49, died June 7, 2025
- Laura Schueler, age 47, died June 7, 2025
- Emma Slabach, age 24, died June 9, 2025
- JJ Godbey, age 26, died June 19, 2025
- Christina Hayes, age 28, died June 21, 2025
- Lily-Dawn Harkins, died June 22, 2025
- Gabrielle Nguyen ("Cam"), died June 22, 2025
- Kia-Leigh Tabitha Roberts, age 55, died June 24, 2025
- Kamora Woods, age 27, died June 27, 2025
- Nathaniel Pabón Cruz ("Nata"), age 27, died June 29, 2925
- Arty Cassidy Beowulf Gibson, age 23, died June 29, 2025
- Dream Johnson, age 28, died July 5, 2025
- Rosa Machuca, age 24, died August 11, 2025
- Blair A. Sawyer, age 27, died August 11, 2025
- Aurora Pellegrina ("Alexa", "Luna"), age 35, died August 18, 2025
- Onyx Cornish, age 18, died August 18, 2025
- Kasí Rhea ("Kaeyy Holmes"), age 31, died August 18, 2025
- Robyn James Post, age 48, died August 19, 2025
- Blake Sturm, age 25, died September 2, 2025
- Blaze Aleczander Balle-Mason, age 17, died September 18, 2025
- Scarlett, age 21, died September 21, 2025
- Tiara Love Tori Jackson, age 37, died September 26, 2025
