Trans Day of Resilience: How You Can Make An Impact
Art credit: Amir Khadar, We Keep Each Other Safe, TGI Justice Project, TDOR 2018
Now more than ever before, the rights of transgender children, adults, and gender-affirming caregivers are under attack. It’s infuriating to see the constant attacks and misinformation in the media, and it’s easy to feel hopeless and here is nothing you can do to make a difference.
This coming Sunday, November 20th, is Trans Day of Resilience (TDOR), a day dedicated to mobilizing and making change. If you’re itching to make change and take steps to help the trans community, read on to learn more about TDOR, and ways you can make an impact.
Click here to register for a free event! More info below.
What is TDOR?
TDOR is a reimagining of a previous event, Trans Day of Resilience, an annual event memorializing those lost to anti-trans violence and hate. TDOR takes the sentiment of Trans Day of Resilience and goes beyond remembering, instead focusing energy on empowering trans and gender non-conforming folks and their communities.
Seeking to simultaneously honor trans folks who have lost their lives while advocating for those still here, TDOR is a day of both activism and resilience.
A Brief History of TDOR
The first Trans Day of Resilience was held in 1999 as a response to the 1998 murder of Rita Hester, a trans woman of color. Trans advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith organized this first memorial.
When speaking about the annual memorial, Ann Smith said: “I am no stranger to the need to fight for our rights, and the right to simply exist is first and foremost. With so many seeking to erase transgender people—sometimes in the most brutal ways possible—it is vitally important that those we lose are remembered, and that we continue to fight for justice."
In 2015, a group called BreakOUT! spun off of this annual memorial to create the first TDOR, “celebrating trans individuals by acknowledging that their very existences are acts of resistance, power, and courage.”
Why TDOR is vital for trans lives
Today, trans and GNC people experience violence at an alarmingly high rate compared to cisgender people, particularly trans and GNC people of color. According to the 2015 US Transgender Survey:
Nearly half (46%) of respondents were verbally harassed in the past year because of being transgender
Nearly 1 in 10 (9%) of respondents were physically attacked in the past year because of being transgender
Nearly half (47%) of respondents were sexually assaulted at some point in their lifetime and one in ten (10%) were sexually assaulted in the past year. In communities of color, these numbers are higher: 53% of Black respondents were sexually assaulted in their lifetime and 13% were sexually assaulted in the last year.
More than half (54%) experienced some form of intimate partner violence, including acts involving coercive control and physical harm.
The last US Transgender Survey was conducted in 2015 by the National Center for Transgender Equality. Over 25 thousand trans and gender non-conforming folks were surveyed, making it the most extensive and relevant data on trans folks in the US to date. The next survey is being held now, and will be closing on November 21, 2022. Click here to take the survey today.
What Can TDOR Events Look Like?
TDOR can be celebrated in a variety of ways, such as:
Candlelight Vigils/Marches
Discussion forums with local activists, politicians, or school officials, teach-ins, or speaker bureaus
Poetry or spoken word art readings
Visual representation of the number of deaths
Art/Photography Displays
Movie screenings
What can I do on TDOR?
If you want to take part in TDOR but can’t find an already-existing event that you can attend, try to take part in one of those above activities from home. Whether watching a documentary, attending an online event, or marching, any personal or active change you can do makes a difference. If you can, donate money (or time!) to one of the many organizations below doing important and impactful work. Whatever is accessible for you, take that step.
For The Gworls: redistributes funds so Black transgender people can pay for their rent, gender-affirming surgeries, smaller co-pays for medicines/doctor’s visits, and travel assistance.
Trans Resistance MA: Advocates for the safety, joy, and liberation of TQBIPOC. They organize an annual March & Vigil in June that returns to the authentic origins of pride.
Trans Emergency Fund provides critical assistance for low-income and homeless transgender people living in Massachusetts.
The Okra Project: a collective that seeks to address the global crisis faced by Black Trans people by bringing home cooked, healthy, and culturally specific meals and resources to Black Trans People wherever they can reach them.
The Trans Defense Fund LA is a mutual aid group that was created in response to the disproportionate violence that trans women face. They provide safety kits, self defense classes, and mutual aid for trans folks.
The Knights and Orchids Society of Alabama strives to obtain justice and equality through group economics, education, leadership development, and organizing cultural work that will build the power of the African American TLGB community throughout rural Alabama and across the South.
Chat about TDOR with me this Sunday!
On Trans Day of Resilience, Sunday, Nov 20 @ 10 AM PT/1 PM EST, Chris Angel Murphy and I will be hosting a discussion about the resiliency of trans youth and the importance of allowing trans kids to tell their own stories along with author and photographer Jesse Freidin!
We will share our perspectives on how to best support and empower our young trans community while chatting about Jesse’s documentary project ‘Are You Ok?’ Come learn more about the project and if you're curious about something, submit your questions for the Q&A!
Click here to register, and I hope to see you there.
There are a multitude of ways to remember and uplift trans folks. Take that first step this TDOR, make your voice heard, and make an impact.
Want to learn more?
Check out my recent blog posts, Active LGBTQ+ Allyship Explained and Six Trans Myths, Debunked! to learn more!
Resources to learn more about LGBTQ+ identities and be a better parent or caregiver:
A great way to be an ally is learning the proper terms to discuss 2SLGBTQ+ topics.
To download a PDF of gender and sexuality terms click here.
Has a kid in your life recently come out to you? Check out my guide!
Sign up for How To Talk To Kids About Gender, the course that helps parents and caregivers have the not-so-difficult conversations that matter about gender.
