About the 2021 WI Trans Day of Remembrance

The 2021 WI Trans Day of Remembrance is a youth-run, grassroots rally at the Wisconsin State Capitol. We center the voices and leadership of transgender, nonbinary, and gender-expansive (TNGE) folks and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities. Our mission is to demand justice for murdered TNGE individuals, create an equitable Wisconsin, and work to end the epidemic of anti-trans* violence. 

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The first rally for TNGE rights at the Wisconsin capitol for the Transgender Day of Remembrance, we hope to be an influential part of the TNGE rights movement in the state and continue in the footsteps of generations of activists working to end anti-trans* violence.

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1. Justice for the transgender, nonbinary, and gender-expansive people murdered in 2021.

2. The Wisconsin state legislature pass non-discrimination protections on the basis of gender identity and expression in all areas of life.

3. The passage of a Wisconsin state law that will allow incarcerated transgender, nonbinary, and gender-expansive people to choose the gender of their prison facility based their safety and well-being.

4. Support one another in mourning during the vigil.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Violence against transgender, nonbinary, and gender-expansive (TNGE) Americans has risen to epidemic levels. At least 175 transgender, nonbinary, and gender-expansive people have been murdered since 2010 with a yearly death rate steadily on the rise, according to data from the HRC, the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Projects, and the Trans Day of Remembrance.

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Anti-trans violence disproportionately impacts TNGE people who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). 80% of TNGE people murdered this year were BIPOC, an increase from 2019. The HRC calculates that BIPOC trans women comprise, on average, 80% of all TNGE people murdered. Rates of violence, homelessness, unemployment, attempted suicide, and poverty are higher for BIPOC TNGE people than their white counterparts, according to the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey (USTS). Black TNGE people have HIV at thirteen times the national average, (USTS). One of the most staggering and horrific statistics is that the average life expectancy of Black transgender women is 35-years-old.

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Black trans people have the highest murder rates , comprising 54% of TNGE murders in the past three years. Anti-trans oppression disproportionately impacts Black TNGE people, especially Black trans women. Many Black trans-led organizations are working to uplift Black transgender, nonbinary, and gender-expansive people

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The COVID-19 pandemic has also disproportionately impacted the trans community. According to PBS Research and the HRC, 22% of TNGE Americans have no health insurance. That number jumps to 34% for BIPOC TNGE people. The same study found that 54% of TNGE people have had their working hours decreased due to the pandemic, and 19% have become unemployed. Due to an overall lower quality of life for transgender Americans and disproportionate rates of COVID deaths for low income and BIPOC people, the TNGE community likely faces higher rates of COVID fatalities. This Trans Day of Remembrance, keep those who have lost their lives to COVID-19 in mind.

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The total number of transgender, nonbinary, and gender-expansive people murdered each year is unknown due to myriad factors. Often, TNGE people are misgendered by police, media, and even their families. Transgender, nonbinary, and gender-expansive people may even be buried under their deadname (the name given to them at birth that no longer fits them). Police reports will gender them by their genitalia rather than their lived experience. We will never know how many lives transphobia has taken. We will never know all their names, stories, or personalities.

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On Saturday, November 20, 2021, we honor the transgender, nonbinary, and gender-expansive people whose lives were ended too soon. We remember those who we know and those we will never know. And we take action to ensure they receive justice and that epidemic of anti-trans violence will soon come to an end.