An observance for the Transgender Day of Remembrance will be offered to the community by PFLAG Granby on Friday, Nov. 20, at 7 p.m. at the North Campus of Granby Congregational Church, 219 North Granby Road.
Held during Transgender Awareness Month, the annual ceremony memorializes individuals who have died throughout the previous year because of anti-transgender hatred. It is a time to remember, to reflect and to stand together against transphobia in all its forms. The vigil will include poetry, music and the reading of the names of transgender and non-binary people who were killed or took their own lives since October of last year.
Transgender Day of Remembrance began in 1999 as a vigil to honor the memory of Rita Hester, a transgender woman who was killed in 1998. The first vigil commemorated all the transgender people lost to violence since Hester’s death and began an important tradition with services held annually on Nov. 20. With so many seeking to erase transgender people, it is vitally important that those lost are remembered. “I think that people fear what they don’t know. And when you know people, it makes all the difference in the world and that’s why we need to come together. It’s for remembrance and resilience,” said Audrey Lampert, president of the Granby PFLAG chapter.
PFLAG Granby is the local chapter of PFLAG National. With close to 350 chapters across the country, PFLAG Granby joins with hundreds of thousands of LGBTQ+ people, parents, families and allies to provide leadership and resources to ensure LGBTQ+ people are safe, celebrated, empowered and loved. The Granby chapter meets monthly in private homes for community and support. For more information, visit the website at granby.pflag.org