PWN Honors Resilience on Transgender Day of Remembrance

November 20, 2020: Today marks 21 years of nationally recognizing November 20 as the International Transgender Day of Remembrance. It began with Gwendolyn Ann Smith holding a vigil honoring the memory of Rita Hester, a transgender woman killed in 1998, whose murder was strikingly similar to that of Chanelle Pickett three years prior, both in Massachusetts. That vigil turned into a tradition and spread beyond anything the founders could have dreamed.

Positive Women’s Network – USA (PWN), a national network of women and people of trans experience living with HIV, wholeheartedly supports the not-so-radical notion of celebrating and honoring trans people every day of the year. PWN envisions and works toward a future in which all people of trans experience are supported to live fulfilling, secure, and happy lives, free from all forms of violence, harassment, hostility, or discrimination.

It is not enough for organizations to simply acknowledge the losses our trans siblings have suffered. We must do more.

We must uplift the continued resilience in the face of an administration that stripped away rights and tried to write trans people out of existence. We must recognize their perseverance to dismantle structural violence and stand at the forefront of many movements and causes. We must elevate the tireless efforts of the trans community in demanding access to gender-affirming health care specifically and equal rights, freedom from discrimination, and equity more broadly.

Today, we remember the trans siblings we lost to complications of COVID-19, as well as those lost to hate and violence, whose names we say below.

For me, TDOR means keeping the love, joy, memories, and dreams of my fallen Kansas City trans siblings and trans siblings around the world. It means fighting for what is right and not let this cycle of violence keep happening over and over again in my city. It means to me most of all not to let their names ever be forgotten “Say Their Names.”

– Korea Kelly, PWN Policy Fellow

Art by Art Twink + @tswiberkeley @fwdtogether

What future do we hope to see for our trans siblings? We envision a future where folks of trans experience feel safe in their neighborhoods and in their daily activities. We demand that trans folks be fairly compensated for their expertise. We demand the decriminalization of sex work.

In 2019, PWN launched the RISE (Resist Inspire Sustain through Education) Training Academy to develop trans women of color in the HIV movement to facilitate workshops and trainings for HIV organizations and in HIV and adjacent spaces. This act of investing in community employs, empowers, and builds leadership in our trans siblings. Areas of expertise for the trainers include, but are not limited to, gender justice, sexual and reproductive health, meaningful involvement of people living with HIV and AIDS (MIPA), needs assessment, and safe housing for trans individuals.

To hire one of the trainers, please contact Barb Cardell at barb(at)pwn-usa.org.