Transgender Day of Remembrance observance set Nov. 20 at UUSD
Sussex Pride & Transliance will hold a vigil to honor the Transgender Day of Remembrance at 7 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 20, at the Unitarian Universalists of Southern Delaware church, 30486 Lewes Georgetown Highway, west of Lewes. This observance is co-sponsored by Salisbury PFLAG, Rehoboth Beach PFLAG, UUSD and Delaware Pride.
The Transgender Day of Remembrance was started in 1999 by transgender advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith as a vigil to honor the memory of Rita Hester, a transgender woman who was killed in 1998. The vigil commemorated all the transgender people lost to violence since Hester's death, and began an important tradition that has become the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance. The vigil honors all trans and nonbinary people lost to hate and violence.
The Transgender Day of Remembrance will feature remarks from Sen. Sarah McBride, D-Wilmington North. In 2016, McBride became the first openly transgender person to speak at a national party convention with her address at the Democratic National Convention. In November 2020, she was elected to office and became the first transgender state senator in the country, making her the highest-ranking transgender elected official in United States history.
The event will also include a video presentation from Adm. Rachel Levine, assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, a performance of the song “True Colors” by Finn Sutton, and a Reading of the Rainbow by Sussex Pride board member Elizabeth Shea Mantey. Delaware Pride Vice President Amanda White will also be a featured speaker.
The theme for the event is True Colors. Everyone is invited to join the gathering and express their pride; dressing in one’s true colors is encouraged.
This year's TransLiance outstanding ally awards will be presented to Delaware Pride VP Amanda White and the board of Delaware Pride, David Mariner and the board of Sussex Pride, as well as Mark Delancy and the board of Salisbury PFLAG, to recognize their dedication to diversity, equity and inclusion.
The event will will end with a reading of the names of transgender and nonbinary community members brutally murdered in the last year. The Human Rights Campaign has documented 32 such deaths thus far this year. Salisbury PFLAG will again be providing hand-painted ornaments with the names of the deceased.
Sussex Pride, a 501(c) nonprofit organization, works to celebrate, strengthen, and support the LGBTQ+ community in Sussex County and the state of Delaware, working through a social justice lens. It focuses on arts and culture, health and wellness, social and support groups, and advocacy for the community. TransLiance is a program of Sussex Pride. For more information, go to sussexpride.org.
