Transgender Day of Remembrance

Transgender Day of Remembrance is held every year on November 20 to memorialize the transgender individuals who have lost their lives as a result of anti-transgender violence. The date was first marked as a response to the murder of Rita Hester in 1998. 

Hester, a transgender woman working to educate the local community about trans issues, was murdered for being trans. In 1999, Gwendolyn Ann Smith, a transgender advocate, decided to honour Hester and other transgender individuals who were murdered as a result of their identity and inaugurated the Transgender Day of Remembrance.

While trans rights are evolving, there is still a lot of work to do to achieve equality. Trans people face unique obstacles in healthcare, housing, the workplace, at school, in restaurants, restrooms, the airport and in their interactions with law enforcement.

There are many things that allies can do to help trans right progress. They can seek out stories by transgender people, they can volunteer for or offer professional services to a transgender organization, and they can educate themselves and learn the basic terminology. 

At CGLCC, our work is informed by advisory councils and working groups to ensure we are meeting our network’s needs, including the needs of the trans business community. That is why we are working to relaunch our Trans Advisory Council which recognizes the particular issues and barriers facing trans and non-binary-owned businesses, in order to ensure we are best serving the needs of the community.

Click here to learn more about the CGLCC Trans Advisory Council.