I have had the pleasure and opportunity to be surrounded by young, politically astute, active youth. Recently, I heard them discussing something called TDoR.
TDoR? If you are in my age range (70s), you may have asked yourself the same thing — yet another acronym to learn and master. So I did what most of us do: I Googled it.
That’s when I learned that TDoR stands for Transgender Day of Remembrance, observed worldwide on November 20th. It was founded in 1999 by Gwendolyn Ann Smith, a transgender advocate, to honor the memory of Rita Hester and all transgender and gender-diverse people murdered because of hatred and bias.
I am not proud of my ignorance. But I share it openly, because I want those of you who, like me, had no idea, not to be ashamed — instead, be curious. Learn. Explore. Be open.
Because what I read shook me.
Transgender and gender-nonconforming people, particularly Black transgender women, face extreme levels of violence. As the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) reminds us:
- “Transgender and gender-nonconforming people, particularly Black transgender women, are disproportionately victims of fatal violence.”
- “These victims are not statistics — they were people with hopes, dreams, and loved ones.”
There is a funny thing about hatred and bias: it does not stay put.
You might believe the violence won’t reach your doorstep, that the victims live outside your circle of experience. But look around. Many people now standing quietly in food lines — something they never imagined for themselves — are discovering how quickly life can turn, and how deeply connected all our struggles are. Hatred, cruelty, lies, and dehumanization always spread. And eventually, they reach your neighborhood, your community, your life.
Why?
Because at the end of the day, this is a human rights issue. Period.
And if you are human, then it is your issue.
Noble voices across generations echo this truth:
- Nelson Mandela: “To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity.”
- Desmond Tutu (paraphrased): Our humanity is bound up in each other; we can only be human together.
- Kenzaburō Ōe, Nobel Laureate (Japan): “The dignity of the individual is essential to any society’s integrity.”
- Daisaku Ikeda: “When we truly respect the dignity of life, peace becomes more than a wish — it becomes our only way forward.”
And that integrity — the integrity of our shared humanity — is hemorrhaging whenever we decide that human rights are a privilege for a select few.
We honor the dead by fighting for the living.
And we protect our humanity by refusing to look away.
From November 2024 through October 2025, 58 transgender people lost their lives.
Cam Thompson, 18
Kaitoria Bankz,, 31
Eli Stablein, 49
Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, 78
Jay Floris, 23
Lady Java, 82
Apollo Moon, 26
Roy Mora, 15
Linda Becerra Moran, 30
Luisa Rivera, 68
Hope Lyca Youngblood, 49
Zara Weinberg, 36
Gabrielle “Cam” Nguyen, 21
Jax Gratton, 34
Lily-Dawn Harkins, 22
Leah Jo, 37
Megan Jordan Kridli, 22
Onyx Cornish, 18
Emma Slabach, 24
Kamora Woods, 27
Blair Sawyer, 27
Christina Hayes, 28
Karmin Wells, 25
Tahiry Broom, 29
Ra’lasia Wright, 25
Aziza “Z” Barnes, 31
Kelsey Elem, 25
Rick Alastor Newman, 29
Jill Heathers Bouvier, 54
Raven Syed
Bianca Castro-Arabejo, 44
Deniz Chucker
Elisa Rae Shupe, 61
Katelyn Rinetta Benoit, 15
Parker Savarese, 15
Sam Nordquist, 24
Sydney Leigh Phillips, 22
Ervianna Johnson, 25
Quanesha “Cocoa” Shantel, 26
Tessa June, 21
Tiara Love “Tori” Jackson, 37
JJ Godbey, 26
Laura Schueler, 47
Meka Shabazz, 46
Aubrey Dameron, 25
Arty Cassidy Beowulf Gibson, 23
Charlotte Fosgate, 17
Sonny Hopkins, 39
Shy’Parius Dupree, 32
Ajani Walden
Kyla Jane Walker, 39
Rosa Machuca, 24
Lia Smith, 21
Phoenix Cassetta
Kasi Rhea, 31
Norah Horwitz, 38
Michele Kaemmerer, 80
Dream Johnson, 28
Amyri Dior, 23