PHOTO ESSAY
November 20th is recognized as Trans Day of Remembrance. Since 2014 grassroots organization Transgender Day of Remembrance and Resilience (TDORR) has hosted this event annually in remembrance of the lives lost in the Trans community in the past year. Through these images we documented the event and saw the importance of community, because for many queer and trans people, it is all they have.
Scott Galvin Community Center in North Miami hosts a community gathering on November 20, 2023, officially known as Transgender Day of Remembrance, and Resilience (TDORR), which serves as a day to remember and honor the memories of the Transgender people whose lives were lost
One of the volunteers organizing the event begins to setup the floral arrangements for the invitees
The lead organizer of TDORR begins to set up the altar with candles and pictures of members of the Transgender community who lost their lives. The Alter allows guests to take the opportunity to pay their respects to the deceased
A table was set up with Postcards which allowed guests to take a moment and write a message of love to honor the lives who were lost and pay their respects
A Transgender Flag was hung at the entrance of the community center. The flag was first flown at a Pride Parade in Phoenix in 2000. The light blue represents boys, and the pink represents girls. The white is used to symbolize those who are transitioning, those who feel they have a neutral gender or no gender and those who are intersex.
Altars were decorated with different items such as Fallen Roses, Candy, Fruit and more to represent a part of the deceased
Behind the Altar, was a projection with names of Transgender people throughout the United States whose lives were lost in acts of Anti-Transgender violence as well as the date of their passing
This specific altar was made to honor the queer lives that were lost in Palestine in 2023
Each guest was allowed to take a Transgender Flag or and LGBTQ+ Flag with them, as well as a sign that stated “She believed she could, So she did”
While an invitee pays their respects at the alter, the projector shows a message of not only remembering the lives lost in hate crimes, but also remembering Transgender and Non Binary people who committed and attempted suicide
Diana, a Transgender woman who was murdered this past year, was honored at the event with a picture of her at the altar. Two of her friends attended the event, and wrote a message for her on a postcard