Transgender Day of Remembrance

Today we join together to honor the memory of the transgender people whose lives were lost in acts of anti-transgender violence.

What is Transgender Day of Remembrance?

Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) was started in 1999 by transgender advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith as a vigil to honor the memory of Rita Hester, a transgender woman who was killed in 1998. The vigil commemorated all the transgender people lost to violence since Rita Hester’s death, and began an important tradition that has become the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance.

*There were at least 25 Transgender and Nonbinary American victims of violence between Jan. 1 – Oct. 1, 2023. We say “at least” because there are likely many other such deaths, with victims dead named or misgendered, or their deaths not reported at all.

Pictures courtesy HRC.