Trans Day of Remembrance (TDOR) is held on November 20th to honor those who have been killed as a result of transphobia, as well as to draw attention to the violence faced by many in the trans community. TDOR was established in 1999 by activist Gwendolyn Anne Smith as a memorial to Rita Hester, a trans woman who was murdered in 1998. This initial local vigil expanded and is now commemorated annually across the world. 

2021 was the deadliest recorded year for trans and gender-nonconforming individuals. Overwhelmingly, those targeted are Black trans women and transfeminine people. As of the time of writing, the official numbers for 2022 are yet to be released.  

TDOR holds particular significance as trans-antagonism has dramatically escalated across the United States and globally. It is urgently important to name and fight back against the strategies to block trans people from public life, criminalize gender-nonconformity, and roll back hard-won access to vital gender-affirming care. These transphobic efforts are rooted in white supremacy, capitalism and other forces of oppression which compound violence for multiply marginalized individuals. 

In the spirit of centering and celebrating trans people of color, the Audre Lorde Project and Forward Together have collaboratively organized an annual art project called Trans Day of Resilience. You can view and download the artwork from this year and all previous years here.

About Cascade AIDS Project

CAP is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1985 as a grassroots response to the AIDS crisis. As the oldest and largest community-based HIV services provider in Oregon and southwest Washington, we seek to support and empower all people with or affected by HIV, reduce stigma, and provide the LGBTQ+ community with compassionate healthcare. We do so by helping to ensure the health and well-being of our program participants each year through health, housing, and other social services. When the need for affordable, accessible, and culturally affirming primary care services was identified as a community need, we responded by opening Prism Health in 2017.  More information can be found at www.capnw.org.