Transgender Day of Remembrance

Today marks the 16th annual Transgender Day of Remembrance. People across the world will be holding various events and vigils, remembering those people who have been lost due to transgender violence. It is a powerful day that is a part of a larger month long awareness campaign. Transgender Day of Remembrance is held every November, marking the death of Rita Hester, who was murdered in her Boston apartment in 1998. A year after that death, which still remains unsolved, writer Gwendolyn Ann Smith held a vigil in San Francisco to honor Hester’s life and bring awareness to the issues faced by Transgender people. The 1999 vigil became the first Transgender Day of Remembrance, which also launched the website “Remembering Our Dead” and several other awareness campaigns and movements.

Community and Culture: Promoting Healing and Change from Injustice

It is a challenging time in many parts of the world today. Many within society are having discussions and trying to understand the complexities of our problems and the needs of the most vulnerable people. These growing discussions have been happening within Pagan and magical communities as well, empowering opportunities to further explore the issues within our circles and groups that are often underrepresented. We are seeing an increase in focus and community support for many topics related to issues of equity, marginalization and justice. Projects, rituals, healing work, and groups have been forming in an attempt to address some of these very needs, and support solutions for the increasing number of headlines involving issues faced by minority populations today.