More than 40 transgender people have been killed across the country this year, and experts estimate that number to be low due to misreporting of gender information. To remember those who have died, a Transgender day of Remembrance ceremony is being held in Jackson by members and allies of the state’s trans community.
Volunteers read the names of the dozens of Americans who have been killed in 2021. Among them are Dominique Jackson and Mel Groves, two trans women from Jackson who were both killed this year.
Jensen Matar is coordinator with the Trans Program in Jackson and identifies as trans-male. He says this year has been one of the deadliest yet for trans Americans.
“Unfortunately people are killed every single year, simply for being who they are. For identifying as transgender or gender non-conforming,” says Matar. “And so we want to uplift those individuals, their lives, their stories, their faces , their names today. And simultaneously help the larger community understand the issues that the transgender people face that lead to this violence so we can do better.”
Members of the LGBTQ+ community shared their experiences and feelings of loss during the ceremony, including Samya Johnson of Madison. She identifies as a trans-woman, and says it hurts to see her sisters being victims of violence. But she is glad to see their lives being remembered.
Johnson says “I’m kinda like, mixed feelings. Because I’m excited that this is happening. This is special, this is so beautiful. But at the same time, it’s overbearing to see how many lives have been taken all over the USA.”
Advocates say one way to support the LGBTQ+ community is by offering words of encouragement, or by standing up for victims of gender or sexual orientation discrimination.
