Transgender Day of Remembrance

November 20 is the Transgender Day of Remembrance to honor those trans people who have been killed by transphobia. More trans people have died in 2015 in the U.S. via transphobic murder than any in recent memory, the vast majority of them being black trans women. 81 trans people have been murdered this year, seemingly for no other reason then they are trans. That is nearly double compared to last year. And still, there are very few protections or even official reporting systems to track violence against trans people.

Trans women of color should not have to wait their turn to be recognized as they continue to be murdered in the street for existing. It's not enough to have visibility - in fact, increased visibility exposes them to increased violence. The violence needs to be addressed. Right now.

Trans women of color are, of course, at the forefront of the movement to get something done about this violence. Mic.com has featured some amazing artwork by trans individuals to celebrate the 2015 Transgender Day of Remembrance. I particularly love this one by Micah Bazant for the Audre Lorde Project:

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