The 67th annual Trans Day of Remembrance
Gina Bigham approaches the reading of the names at the annual Trans Day of Remembrance (TDOR) by telling the story of how the person lived, not just their death. She researches their past and collects as many stories as possible, working to honor and humanize each individual, preventing them from becoming just another name on a list.
“These people are more than just a name, you know, and it's not a perfunctory thing. It's important to recognize that they lived. They lived authentically, and they lived their truth,” Bigham said.
The reading of the names is a traditional part of the TDOR programming, in remembrance of transgender, nonbinary and gender-nonconforming people who lost their lives to anti-transgender violence. In 2025, Bigham, the event organizer and program manager at the Trans Lounge, read 35 names during the ceremony, held at the Los Angeles LGBT Center in Hollywood on Nov. 20.
Transgender advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith started the first TDOR in 1999, “as a vigil to honor the memory of Rita Hester, a transgender woman who was killed in 1998,” according to GLAAD. Now, community members and supporters come together to hold space for the dead and raise awareness about the violence affecting the community.
According to a study from the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, “Transgender people are over four times more likely than cisgender people to experience violent victimization, including rape, sexual assault, and aggravated or simple assault.”
For M. Rush, who wasn’t comfortable sharing their first name due to privacy reasons, the ceremony is about fostering community and supporting one another.
They said, “It's important to bring attention to the struggles that we go through. And to keep visibility of the issues that people face. It helps to dispel falsehoods and misinformation, and it's ultimately about fighting hate and bigotry with kindness.”
One of the people the ceremony paid homage to was Army veteran Elisa Rae Shupe, the first person in America to obtain legal recognition of nonbinary gender. She died on Jan. 27, 2025, by suicide.
Bigham said they haven’t always included people who committed suicide in the reading of the names ceremony, but they’ve started to incorporate them within the last few years. She feels that, though it’s internal, it’s still a form of violence that hatred and bigotry directed at the trans community can cause.
“It's bullying, it's misgendering, it's the weight of a government that is actively trying to eradicate our very existence,” Bingham said. “So, that is a form of violence in and of itself, because the way society is treating these folks is what's driving them to take the actions that they do.”
According to another study by the Williams Institute, there’s a high suicide rate within the transgender community. It found that “81% of transgender adults in the U.S. have thought about suicide, 42% of transgender adults have attempted it, and 56% have engaged in non-suicidal self-injury over their lifetime.”
Christine Jones, the president of Atheists United, attended the event to offer her support to the transgender community. She wanted to offer her presence and emphasized the importance of advocating for marginalized communities.
Jones said, “We need to fight for each other and find the support that we have among ourselves to just get through the difficult times that we're going through.”
According to the ACLU’s website, in recent years, some states have advanced a record number of bills that target transgender people. The independent research organization Trans Legislation Tracker, which tracks anti-trans bills, stated on its website that in 2025, there have been 1,012 bills under consideration that would negatively impact trans and gender-nonconforming people — 124 have passed.
The fight against the transgender community weighs heavily on Bigham’s mind. She said, “Trans people have always been around. And we have survived before, and we will continue to survive. But this is a really hard time.”
The ceremony also included performances from singer-songwriter Anna Mack and Slam Poets Inc., intended to reflect the solemn nature of the day, offering lightness and hope.
Bigham found challenges balancing inspiration and solemnness within the programming. She said, “It's like going to a wake. So the performers have to be very intentional about trying to create a space of healing and a space of inspiration, 'cause we're both mourning and trying to heal and inspire people.”
Suicide is prevalent within the transgender community, but Bigham said it doesn’t have to be.
Bigham said, “I wish those folks were still here, and I wish they were able to reach out to someone and talk to someone.
“But I don't blame them, or there's no shame, I think, in what they did, because I understand. It's a hard, hard world right now, and trying to find joy in a world like this is sometimes really, really challenging. So giving folks a little bit of inspiration is the thing that I think is the most important in all this, and trying to just reiterate to folks that if they are feeling suicidal ideations, just, please talk to someone because you matter.”
For anyone struggling The Trevor Project provides 24/7 support for LGBTQ youth. Text ‘START’ to 678-678 or call at 1-866-488-7386.
Trans Lifeline is a 24/7 hotline staffed by transgender people for transgender people. Call 1-877-565-8860.