The Transgender Day of Remembrance is an annual event that started in 1998 after the killing of Rita Hester, a transgender African American woman, in the United Sates. Today on TDOR we memorialize those who were killed due to anti-transgender hate and prejudice. It is difficult to obtain statistics for countries abroad. At African Human Rights Coalition, we are aware of an increase in the number of cases reported to us from various African countries, which have resulted in an upsurge of transgender people migrating to other countries, seeking refugee mandates from UNHCR, for resettlement abroad.
As of November 20, Transgender Day of Remembrance, 22 homicides of trans Americans have been reported in 2018.
Here are the names of those we remember who were murdered in the USA this past year:
Roxana Hernández, a transgender immigrant, died May 25 in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The cause of death was complications of pneumonia and HIV, and activists say there are unanswered questions about the conditions in which she was detained and whether they may have contributed to her death.
Celine Walker, 36, was found shot to death in a hotel room in Jacksonville, Fla., February 4.
Christa Leigh Steele-Knudslien, 42, of North Adams, Mass. The founder of the Miss Trans America and Miss Trans New England pageants, she was stabbed to death at her home January 5. Her husband, Mark S. Steele-Knudslien, 47, has been charged with her murder.
Viccky Gutierrez, 33, was stabbed to death at her home in Los Angeles January 10.
Zakaria Fry, 28, went missing from her home in Albuquerque, N.M., January 18, along with her housemate, Eugene Carroll Ray, 70. Their bodies were found February 19 in trash bins in a rural part of New Mexico; both had died of blunt force trauma to the head and face,
Tonya Harvey, 35, was fatally shot on a dead-end street in Buffalo, N.Y., February 6.
Phylicia Mitchell, 45, died February 23 after being shot in the chest outside her home in Cleveland.
Amia Tyrae Berryman, 28, was found shot to death at the Shades Motel in Baton Rouge, La., early in the morning of March 26.
Sasha Wall, 29, was found shot to death in her car along a rural road in Chesterfield County, S.C., the morning of April 1
Carla Patricia Flores-Pavon was strangled to death in her Dallas apartment May 9.
Nino Fortson, 36, was shot to death in Atlanta May 13. Fortson, who has been described both as a trans man and a gender-expansive individual,
Gigi Pierce, 28, was shot to death in Portland, Ore., the night of May 21. She was from Boise, Idaho,
Antash’a English, 38, was shot to death in Jacksonville, Fla., June 1. On a city street, she was shot in the abdomen by someone firing from a vehicle.
Diamond Stephens, 39, was shot to death June 18 while driving home. She was shot in the back of the head,
Cathalina Christina James was the third transgender woman murdered in Jacksonville this year, leading some to suspect a serial killer is at work.
Keisha Wells, 54, was found dead in the parking lot of an apartment complex June 24 in Cleveland, the second trans woman murdered in the city this year.
Sasha Garden, 27, was found dead at an Orlando apartment complex July 19.
Dejanay Stanton, 24, was shot to death early in the morning of August 30 on the south side of Chicago. She was found in an alley,
Vontashia Bell, 18, suffered a fatal gunshot wound August 30 in Shreveport, La. She was found on the street early that morning and pronounced dead at a local hospital.
Shantee Tucker, 30, was shot to death September 5 on a Philadelphia street by someone firing from inside a pickup truck.
Londonn Moore, 20, was found shot to death September 8 in North Port, Fla.
Nikki Enriquez, 28, of Laredo, Texas, was found dead near Interstate 35 in south Texas September 15. She has been shot in the head.
Ciara Minaj Carter Frazier, 31, was stabbed to death in Chicago the night of October 3. She was found in the backyard of an abandoned house.
We would be remiss if we did not call out the current U.S. administration under the Presidency of Donald Trump and the Republican Party for failing to quell violence and anti-trans sentiment against Trans people, as well as exacerbating hate against trans people.
LAST YEAR, 2017 TDOR READ HERE.
