FERNDALE –
Nearly 70 people filled the rows at Metropolitan Community Church of Detroit on the bitterly cold evening of Nov. 21 to commemorate Transgender Day of Remembrance.
The event, held each year, is held for the LGBT community and allies to mourn the loss of transgender victims of hate-inspired violence.
"We are here to remember our transgender brothers and sisters who have been killed just for being transgender," said Rachel Crandall, executive director of TransGender Michigan. "If you ask me how I feel about that, I'll say I'm really pissed off."
Crandall's anger is not difficult to understand. According to a letter read by Transgender Detroit's Michelle Fox-Phillips from Transgender Day of Remembrance founder Gwendolyn Smith, a transgender person has a 1 in 12 chance of being murdered due to anti-transgender violence or prejudice.
"I wish to remind each of you (that) the most basic right we have is the right to exist," Fox-Phillips read.
Currently no transgender-inclusive hate crimes legislation exists in Michigan or at the federal level.
Speaking at the event was Chief Legal Officer for the Michigan Department of Civil Rights Dan Levy. He acknowledged that the Department has not done enough in the past to address anti-transgender violence and indicated that they planned to do the right thing now.
Levy spoke of the frustrations he has experienced trying to pass a hate crimes bill in Michigan. He spoke of big, strapping police officials he's spoken to who are against hate crimes legislation. "The thing that's keeping him up at night is that we're going to pass a law that says we" are going to protect LGBT people.
"It's about this fear of you. It's about this fear of seeing the words 'sexual orientation' in print somewhere as if that's going to make all of their children run out and become gay," he said.
"I hear a number like 1 in 12 transgender people have a chance of being killed in their lifetime and I think, No, you've got it wrong," the number can't possibly be that high, he said, adding that living as an open transgender person takes "a courage I can't even relate to except to say that I admire it."
State Senator Hansen Clarke was also scheduled to address the event but he did not attend.
Bashar Makhay, Affirmations community organizer, read a letter from U.S. Sen. Carl Levin. "It is very disheartening that such anger and hate exists in today's world," Makhay read. "My thoughts are with you as you gather this evening to pay tribute to family and friends who have lost their lives."
During the ceremony Julia Marsh and Jessica Manko read the names of those who have died since the last Transgender Day of Remembrance Ceremony. The two women alternated reading names, ages and often gruesome details of deaths that occurred around the world including Ohio, Florida, California, New Mexico, Maryland, South Carolina, New York, Colorado, Hawaii, Tennessee, Turkey, Chile, Iraq, the UK, Malaysia, Portugal, Mexico, Germany, Spain, and Italy.
The victims included Ashley Sweeney, a young transgender woman whose body was found on Feb. 4 near the intersection of Canfield and Ellery streets on Detroit's East Side. She had been shot in the head.
Also remembered was Lawrence King, the 15-year-old boy from Oxnard, California. King, who liked to wear women's clothing, was shot to death by 14-year-old Brandon McInerney while at school on Feb. 12. King had asked McInerney to be his Valentine several days before the shooting.
"Continually every year I hope people come away from here realizing that there is a whole group of our community being targeted by hate crimes. We are here to stand up for the transgender community," said Mark Bidwell, senior pastor at MCCD.
On both sides of the sanctuary hung large television monitors displaying each victim's name and information about their death. "In seeing those names … it's really a reality check for people to realize something needs to be done here, something needs to change," Bidwell said, pointing to the screens. "To see that is so horrific. And this stuff still happens. The names have not stopped. They keep increasing every year."
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Currently under Michigan law, "ethnic intimidation" occurs when a "person maliciously, and with specific intent to intimidate or harass another person because of that person's race, color, religion, gender, or national origin." (MCLA Act 328 of 1931, Section 750.147b). There has been legislation introduced to both houses of the Michigan Legislature (House Bill 6341 of 2008 and Senate Bills 1454 and 1455 of 2008) that would update the legislation.
The Michigan legislation would update the law to include protection on the basis of "sexual orientation, gender identity or expression of gender" and "disability". Check out the Web site and get involved.
