The rainbow flag was an eye-catching feature in the student conference room for Transgender Remembrance Day on Wednesday, Nov. 21st.
Despite the rainy weather, Queer Straight Alliance (QSA) still held its event in the Student Union building.
Artistic posters that read “teach tolerance” and “love is love” decorated the room. In the front of the room was a table full of resources for gay, lesbian, transgender or queer individuals. And the songs “I’m Transgender” followed by the Black Eyed Peas’ “Where is the Love” and Jillette Johnson’s “Cameron” played in the background.
Jerrod Espinosa-Setchko, who was the MC for the event, said, “We are having this event at DVC as a way to show our support and because we feel it is important to bring about awareness of transgender issues. We are here today as a way to stand up and speak out against transphobia.”
Jasmine Flores, the president of QSA, further noted that “transgender individuals so rarely get the attention and support they need, so we hope that this event will reach those people and let them know that they are not alone. We hope that, while our event may be small, we can let just one person know that they’re accepted and loved for who they are.”
Transgender Remembrance Day is not an isolated event unique to DVC, but an international one. Flores explained the historical background of the event.
“The national event began on November of 1998 in Allston, MA with the death of Rita Hester, an African American woman who was murdered due to transphobia,” Flores said. “The people of Allston came together with a candlelight vigil in response to the grief and anger towards Rita Hester’s murder. That very same candle burning back in 1998 started off the “Remembering Our Dead” web project, which sprung forth the international Transgender Day of Remembrance.”
This year is the first time that Contra Costa County formally recognized Nov. 20 as Transgender Remembrance Day as an international holiday.
Amanda Liles, QSA events coordinator commented, “we are trying to reach the students who are not aware of what is going on as well as those who just don’t care. This is an important event because people don’t take the time to find the information on their own and this is a way to help them get it.”
Even with a low turnout from non-QSA members, the event brought awareness to those who did attend.
Ryan Beaver, a guest speaker from the local Rainbow Community Center, described incidents involving the transgender community.
“In the last month, there has been three acts of violence, locally, against the transgender community,” Beaver said. “The first of which happened in Oakland, where a young non-binary identified person was set afire aboard in AC Transit bus. Only days later, a young transgender woman of the age of only 25 took her life in the city of Walnut Creek as she left from the BART track onto traffic. And most recently, in Hercules High School, a young transgender girl got into a fight in school, following harassment and bullying. Enough is enough. This is only three acts in the last month in our local community.”
Beaver went on to say, “As a genderqueer individual, this is moving and meaningful to me. And I hope that our conversation today can be a starting point for continued advocacy.”
Another guest speaker, Tyler Coda, also from the Rainbow Community Center, spoke about social stigma due to transphobia through personal testimony. He presented the realistic, problematic struggles he faced including violence in schools and discrimination in employment and health care.
Combined with live music, a dance performance, poetry reading, guest speakers’ personal testimonies and folk candle burning, the event paid respect to those who have passed and brought awareness and support for those that are still struggling with transphobia today.
For the Spring of 2014, QSA will host a Day of Silence event as well as a celebration of National Coming Out Day.
Editor’s note: this story was updated on Dec. 2 to correct the title of Jillette Johnson’s song.