Transgender Day of Remembrance Vigil Held at Bel Aire/Clarion

Members of Erie's Transgender community and allies gathered at the Bel Aire Hotel and Conference Center, 2800 W 8th St, Erie PA on Sunday, November 20, 2016 to observe Transgender Day of Remembrance with a candlelit vigil. This was the 18th annual observance nationally. The event was organized by Caitlyn Strohmeyer, president of TransFamily of NW PA.

Caitlyn's speech in opening the event:

I'd like to welcome everyone and thank you for attending this candlelight vigil on the 18th Transgender Day of Remembrance where we honor the lives of all those lost to global anti-transgender violence. In past years, we have learned about the loss of many around the world, but this year I'd like to turn our focus to here in the United States. Even as we have become more visible as a community and obtained unprecedented gains in support from the cisgender community, this has also come with unprecedented loss, as 2016 has seen the largest number of deaths in America since the inception of this solemn event.

As we know, the events of the past 18 months has created a divisiveness in America that hasn't been seen in decades. Some may argue that its always been there, but that people have now been given carte blanche to act on their hatred, bigotry, and xenophobia. Communities of color, immigrants, refugees from the terrors of Syria, and yes, the LGBT community are in a state of fear. This is real fear and it is valid. In the last two weeks the Southern Poverty Law Center has logged more than 300 reports of hate crimes around the nation. This is not the America I want, and I'm sure it not the America that you want either.

Our community has seen a level of legislative support that has never happened before. This has been both a blessing and a curse. Many people feel that we are pushing too hard, too fast. That Americans need time to adjust. That we shouldn't force people into acceptance, but that we need to take a slow and steady, incremental approach. I would argue that in almost any other situation, I might agree. However, in this case, people are dying. They are dying at the hands of others who would rather try to remove the situation than to deal with it. Many are dying at their own hands because of the hatred and oppression they face on a daily basis. Our community is in crisis. We cannot afford to wait. We must stand up with pride and show the world that our rights as human beings is not negotiable. Our dignity is not something we have to wait for others to get used to. Our lives are worth more than this.

We are very blessed here in our little corner of Pennsylvania. Our community has a level of support that many areas of our nation only dream of. However, support and action are two different things. You are all here because you care about this crisis. Many more are not. While some may have wanted to be here, they were unable to be due to previous commitments. There are many more who made a conscious decision to not be here. While I cannot say what the reason is, I fear that much of it is due to apathy. To the feeling that this doesn't affect me. I would argue that it does. It affects everyone when any one of us is marginalized, oppressed, harassed, discriminated against, or murdered. It affects us all because it sends a message of who we are as a nation. It sends a message of who we are as human beings. Not being here tells the world that your life goes on, even as that of others are ending violently, and that's ok. This has to change. We have to change. We have to be better. We have to stand up to intolerance and discrimination in ALL of its forms. We have to stand for ALL oppressed communities.

We must quit standing on the sidelines and we must take action, whether it is as simple as affixing a safety pin on your jacket to let people know you are a safe person, or whether it is as bold as actually getting involved in making a difference by volunteering your time. Our community has a lot of work to do, and we need help. We need the help of everyone. We need the help of those who don't suffer our pain personally, but the help of those who are still able to stand up and say this is unacceptable. The transgender community can fight for our own rights, and many feel that we are just whiny and should simply be happy that we haven't been murdered. It takes our cisgender allies to stand up for us to truly make a difference. Sometimes, it takes a cisgender person willing to share why they are outraged and heartbroken to be able to connect with another cisgender person. The true power of our community doesn't come from within, but from without, because we are a small minority, but our allies are the rest of the nation.

Thank you for being here. Thank you for being an ally, a friend, a warrior. Stay strong, because this fight has only just begun. Now, let's remember the lives of those among us who have escaped their pain and who will look over us as we continue this fight.

Photos

Also view photos here.