BY BTL STAFF
Photo courtesy of the Human Rights Campaign
Transgender Day of Remembrance is an annual observance on Nov. 20 that honors the memory of those whose lives were lost in acts of anti-transgender violence. TDOR was started by transgender advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith as a vigil to honor the memory of Rita Hester, a transgender woman who was killed in 1998.
Though Hester was not the first transgender person to be a victim of transphobia and violence, her death became the catalyst for the launch of TDOR in San Francisco on the one-year anniversary of her death.
During the week of Nov. 14-20, individuals and organizations around the country participate in Transgender Awareness Week to help raise the visibility of transgender and gender non-conforming people and address the issues these communities face.
There are a variety of activities and events in Michigan to memorialize those who have been murdered because of hate, to support the transgender community and to help raise awareness about the continued violence facing transgender people.
Nov. 13
University of Michigan School of Social Work
ECC Room
1080 S. University Ave. in Ann Arbor
6:30-8 p.m.
Co-hosted by the Spectrum Center
Keynote speaker Dr. Z Nicolazzo, assistant professor in the adult and higher education program and a faculty associate in the Center for the Study of Women, Gender, and Sexuality, both at Northern Illinois University.
http://bit.ly/2yCaNqx
Russel H. Kirkhof Center
Grand Valley State University
Grand River Room 2250
1 Campus Dr in Allendale
4 p.m.
Hosted by GVSU Milton E. Ford LGBT Resource Center
Free talk with gender theorist and historian Susan Stryker. Her speech is entitled "What Transpires Now: Transgender History and the Future We Need."
http://www.facebook.com/grtransfoundation/
Nov. 16
McKinnon Plaza
University of Michigan
303 E. Kearsley St. in Flint
6 p.m.
Hosted by Ellen Bommartio LGBTQ Center
http://www.facebook.com/UMF.LGBTQ/
Nov. 17
MCC Detroit
2441 Pinecrest in Ferndale
7-9 p.m.
Hosted by the Gender-Identity Network Alliance and MCC Detroit
http://www.facebook.com/MCCDetroit/
Nov. 18
First Congregational United Church of Christ
210 West Saginaw Hwy. in Grand Ledge
6 p.m.
Hosted by Emily Rose and Nicole Wilson
http://www.facebook.com/events/1940990612841091/
Nov. 19
Salus Center
624 E. Michigan Ave. in Lansing
6-7:30 p.m.
http://www.facebook.com/SalusCenterMI/
Nov. 20
William Monroe Trotter Multicultural Center
1443 Washtenaw Ave. in Ann Arbor
6-8 p.m.
Hosted by the University of Michigan Spectrum Center
http://www.facebook.com/spectrumcenter/
Eastern Michigan University
LGBT Resource Center
354 EMU Student Center in Ypsilanti
734-487-4149 or [email protected]
http://www.emich.edu/lgbtrc
The Bradley House Theatre
403 S. Jefferson Ave. in Saginaw
7:30 p.m.
Showing of "The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson"
Hosted by Perceptions and PFLAG Tri-Cities
http://www.perceptionsmi.org/donate/
Gender and Sexuality Center
Oakland University
312 Meadow Brook Road, 49D Oakland Center in Rochester
248-370-4336 or [email protected]
9 a.m.
A panel will discuss issues transgender people face, provide resources for transgender people and offer guidance on how to help or be a good ally to the transgender community.
https://oakland.edu/gsc/
