2023 Miami Trans Day of Remembrance & Resilience

History of Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDoR)

Annually on November 20th, individuals unite worldwide to mourn and pay tribute to the lives of trans and non-binary individuals tragically lost to anti-trans violence, transmisogynoir, stigma, transphobia, whorephobia, and various oppressive systems.

Started by transgender advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith in 1999 as a vigil to honor the memory of Rita Hester (a trans woman killed in 1998, pictured below), this first vigil also uplifted all of the other trans people lost that year - thus beginning a sacred annual tradition.

(Rita Hester: November 30, 1963 – November 28, 1998)

Anti-Trans Climate

Every year, we say "this is the deadliest year on record for trans people." This year, we grappled with a deeply disheartening wave of anti-trans legislation that swept nearly the entire country -- 583 anti-trans bills were initiated in 49 states (https://translegislation.com).

While not all of these bills were passed, the ones that were will ultimately lead to many trans/non-binary lives lost. Those who will be disproportionately impacted by these harmful legislative efforts are our youth and young adults, people of color, sex workers, disabled folks, and those living in poverty.

Trans youth, in particular, are at the forefront of this battle, facing barriers to vital healthcare, enduring exclusion from school sports and gendered activities, and being pushed to the margins by both their peers and adult bullies ... before they even have a chance to become trans adults.

(Getty Images: Youth protestors supporting access to care/services for trans minors during a rally)

All of this lands a global pandemic that socioeconically ravaged trans/non-binary communities. Florida's housing market forced many of us into unsafe and/or non-affirming living situations, with many of us still living this way today out of sheer financial necessity.

And in South Florida, we’ve continued to watch many who say they care about trans/non-binary lives double down on their attachment to white supremacy, privilege, and the police state.

As local leaders and even our own local Pride events continue to align with the police ... local police departments continue to misgender our dead and withhold information about them, while doing very little, if anything, to investigate.

How many local trans murders, including several that took place in broad daylight, have been solved since our inaugural 2013 Miami event?

Give us Our Roses While We're Here

In light of all that local trans/non-binary communities continue to endure, we are calling on you to help us protect the sanctity of this one international day of mourning we have. In exchange for your support of Miami's TDoR&R, we commit to continuing to do our best to appropriately honor the lives of those we’ve lost with dignity, reverence, and respect.

(2022 TDORR Miami: Pre-Ceremony)

ALL proceeds raised go directly towards purchasing event-related materials including the purchase/hosting of our new website, tangibles, food/drinks, and stipends for all trans/non-binary speakers, performers, and planning committee members for their time, brilliance, and contributions. If you would like to contribute via Cash App, we welcome this as well at: $MiamiTDORR

The History & Culture of TDOR&R Miami

After our 2013 TDoR event, wherein a local white gay male "ally" delivered a speech written by a trans woman of color, owning her story as his own and deliberately failing to credit her, several local trans people vowed to never let that happen again. Since then, the Miami Transgender Day of Remembrance and Resilience (TDOR&R) grassroots planning committee has brought the community together to mourn and honor the lives of trans/non-binary people lost, while also focusing on resiliency, healing, and uplifting the lives of trans people living in South Florida.

TDOR&R Miami centers trans/non-binary performers and speakers, and the event itself is organized by a small-but-mighty and entirely trans/non-binary committee. Held at Barry University since 2013, we have seen over 200 people some years.

(2022 TDORR Miami Crew)

One part of our annual TDORR event includes a more traditional "TDoR" remembrance, where we will mourn and honor the irreplaceable lives lost locally, around the country, and throughout the world.

(2022 TDORR Miami Community-Built Altar)

The second component of annual TDORR event includes our resiliency and healing pieces, focused on celebrating the lives of trans people living in our community and creating space for trans/non-binary people to come together to heal. This portion often includes performances by local trans spoken word artists, authors, singers and songwriters, and other trans-identified performers, all of whom are fairly compensated for their contributions (SoFL trans folks can submit work for consideration at https://linktr.ee/tdorrmiami).

(2022 TDORR Miami Performer, Maiah Duckstein)

Why This Matters

For many in the transgender community, November 20th is a holy day on which we come together to mourn, uplift, love, and affirm one another. Hundreds, if not thousands, of trans/non-binary people, are dying every year. This is especially true for trans women of color, whose lives are stolen from us constantly, both locally and abroad. This is an epidemic. We must come together in community, as trans/non-binary people and allies, to honor and lift our trans family's lives up.

(2022 TDORR Miami - Goodies for Our Trans/Non-binary Fam)

Each year, we can only hope that we will all be together to share space again on the same day next year. However, we know that the grim reality is that someone among us will likely be gone. Every year, we lose transgender Floridians. This year, we are uplifting:

London Price, a 26-year-old Black trans woman who was pistol-whipped and shot by an ex-boyfriend in her Miami home, in front of her grandmother, on October 23rd. Born in New Orleans, she relocated to Miami after high school. London loved jewelry and music and had shared pics from a Disney World trip just before her untimely death.

(London Price, 26; Miami, FL)

Camdyn Rider, a 21-year-old white transgender man, who was eight months pregnant at the time of his murder on July 21, 2023, which occurred outside his home in Winter Park, FL. Camdyn had recently posted on Facebook about how excited he was to welcome a child into the world. According to news reports, Camdyn was killed by his partner, Riley Groover, during an argument. Groover then died by suicide.

(Camdyn Rider, 21; Winter Park, Florida)

By contributing to this event, you're not only supporting us to honor people like Camdyn with dignity and grace, but you're also contributing to local trans people's existence, survival, and radical acts of rest, resilience, and healing.

TDOR&R Event Info

We will be hosting the 2023 event at 6pm at the Scott Galvin Community Center (sponsored by Councilman Scott Galvin of North Miami).

We are immensely grateful for your continued support -- 2023 makes ten full years of TDORR Miami. When will it end?

In struggle and in strength,

The 2023 Miami TDORR Planning Committee

logan meza, Jack Lee Jordan, & LJ Woolston