Each year between November 13–19, people and organizations around the country participate in Transgender Awareness Week to help raise the visibility of transgender people and address issues members of the community face. It is a crucial time to lift the voices and experiences of the transgender and nonbinary community and to educate the public about who transgender people are, sharing stories and experiences, and advancing advocacy around the issues of prejudice, discrimination, and violence.
The week’s activities culminate on November 20, Transgender Day of Remembrance, a day in which transgender and nonbinary people and allies come together to honor the lives lost to anti-transgender violence. This is an opportunity to remember those we have lost in horrific circumstances, come together to overcome divisions in our community, heal and grieve with other people affected by this terrible issue and attempt to find a way to educate those who are transphobic.
Seattle Trans and Nonbinary Choral Ensemble (STANCE) presents special memorial concerts to honor Trans Day of Remembrance this month. The Power of Me will be held twice: 3 pm Saturday, November 16, and then on the actual national day of remembrance, 7:30 pm Wednesday, November 20. Both concerts at University Congregational Church (4515 16th Ave NE Seattle). Click here for tickets.
“Transgender Day of Remembrance seeks to highlight the losses we face due to anti-transgender bigotry and violence. 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.” —Transgender Day of Remembrance founder Gwendolyn Ann Smith