MACON, Ga. — November 20 is Transgender Day of Remembrance.
Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) is an annual observance to honor the memory of the transgender people whose lives were lost in acts of anti-transgender violence.
The observance 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, according to GLAAD. The vigil also honored the memory of many other transgender people whose lives had also been lost to violence.
Since then, people across the country and across the world have gathered to remember those lost and continually advocate for the lives of those still living.
According to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), at least 26 transgender and gender non-conforming lives have been lost through violent actions including gun and interpersonal violence in 2023. In 2022, they reported 41 lives lost.
These numbers do not fully capture the full picture of transgender and gender non-conforming lives lost due to some victims being misgendered in police reports, their cases not being reported as hate crimes to federal or state authorities and some crimes against transgender people not being reported to the police at all.
In 1990, Congress passed the Hate Crime Statistics Act, which required the Attorney General to collect data “about crimes that manifest evidence of prejudice based on race, religion, sexual orientation, or ethnicity.”
This means the FBI relies on law enforcement to collect and submit this data. But this program is also voluntary.
So, while we can honor the memory of those names we know, we should keep in mind there are many names we don't know and may never know.
Of the names we do know, 88% were people of color and 54% were Black transgender women, according to the HRC.
47% of victims with a known killer were killed by a romantic/sexual partner, friend or family member and 50% were misgendered or deadnames by authorities or the press when their deaths were released.
In Macon, 23-year-old Destin Howard was found shot to death in the Reaves Software parking lot on Thomaston Road in December 2022.
The Bibb County Sheriff's Office arrested and charged 26-year-old Jaleel Deshawn Parker with her death.
An arrest warrant for Parker said Howard's roommates heard her arguing on the phone with a man and then she left the apartment. Her roommates told investigators that Parker was paying money to Howard to keep their relationship a secret.
According to an obituary, Howard was a 2019 graduate of Westside High School.
"Her greatest passion was fashion," her obituary said. "She loved to dress in the latest style."
Three Georgia natives are listed on the 2023 reports of transgender lives lost by the HRC.
In Atlanta, 35-year-old Black transgender woman Koka Da Doll was found shot near a shopping plaza on April 18. She was a rapper and starred in the award-winning Sundance Film Festival documentary, “Kokomo City.”
37-year-old Black transgender woman Ashley Burton was killed on April 11 in Atlanta. She was described as “a courageous fighter” by her cousin.
Her brother Patrick praised her authenticity as a trans woman saying, “The way my sibling moved in life, it was…take it or leave it. ‘This is how I am.’ You can respect it or neglect it, but Ashley put it out there and let that person know. It’s not going to be a secret."
26-year-old indigenous queer and non-binary environmental activist, Tortuguita, was shot by Georgia state troopers on Jan. 18 during a protest of the 85-acre police training facility also known as "Cop City."
Tortuguita is described as "a 'radiant, joyful, beloved community member' who 'brought an indescribable jubilance to each and every moment of their life,' and 'fought tirelessly to honor and protect the sacred land of the Weelaunee Forest. They took great joy in caring for each and every person that they came across.'"
You can see the full list of transgender and gender non-conforming lives lost in 2023 on the Human Rights Campaigns website.
"It is everyone’s responsibility to ensure trans persons can live full lives of dignity, without fear of violence or harm. Until then, we will continue to speak loudly and clearly to end transphobic violence and homicide," Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said in a press release honoring TDOR.