Beth Walton

bwalton@citizen-times.com

ASHEVILLE - During a year marked by charged campaign rhetoric and the passing of a state law that many say is discriminatory toward transgender people, advocacy organizations are asking the public to take to the streets.

Local groups will observe the 18th International Transgender Day of Remembrance Sunday. The public is invited.

The program, which honors and memorializes victims of transphobic violence, will begin at 6 p.m at Pritchard Park in downtown Asheville.

International Transgender Day of Remembrance is a way for the public to come out and show the transgender community that it stands beside them, said Zeke Christopoulos, director of Tranzmission, a nonprofit organization providing transgender support and advocacy in Western North Carolina.

"It's a way to say we care about you and we won't let these laws go unchecked, and we want to respect your right to live peacefully just as every other person has that right," he said.

This year marked the deadliest on record for transgender people in the United States, reports GLAAD, a national organization advocating for equality.

In the first eleven months of 2016, the deaths of 26 transgender people have been reported — that's a rate of more than two people killed every month, with transgender women and people of color at a heightened risk, the organization reports.

There were at least 24 LGBT people killed by hate violence in 2015, 67 percent were transgender and gender non-conforming individuals, GLAAD reports. Of transgender homicides, 54 percent, or 13, were transgender women of color.

The number of transgender people intentionally hurt of killed is likely much higher than reported, Christopoulos said, noting that discrimination against marginalized groups has increased since the election of Donald Trump for president of the United States and the March passing of House Bill Two in North Carolina.

GLAAD's 2016 tally does not include the deaths of those who identify as transgender, but were not classified that way due to misrepresentation by a person's family, in police reports or in the media.

"While this is a sad thing to mark, it is also just as important that we are not quiet about what happens in our community," Christopoulos said. "What the president elect has done is basically give a mandate to people to go out and speak and act in a hateful manner."

This week Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer condemned local incidents of hate speech since the election, which included reported verbal harassment against African-Americans, Hispanic and LGBT people.

Tranzmission has also seen an increase in calls from transgender individuals and their families reporting discrimination at the workplace and at school, Christopoulos said.

Many transgender people live in a state of "constant vigilance," he said. "That's a tough thing to walk through the world with."

David Forbes, editor of The Asheville Blade, a local news outlet focused on government and social justice, came out as transgender in March.

Forbes, who prefers the pronoun "they," experienced discrimination even before the public announcement, especially when wearing a dress or earrings.

People would yell slurs from their cars, Forbes said. "It's definitely real in Asheville," the editor added. "I know people who have faced far worse.”

“The sad part is all of that forms this structure and this bigotry that hurts and sometimes kills way too many transpeople," Forbes said.

Transgender Day of Remembrance was first held in 1999 to memorialize the death of a Massachusetts transgender woman named Rita Hester, whose murder remains unsolved. The day has since garnered an international response, drawing attention to the issue worldwide.

The 2016 event in Asheville is being sponsored by Tranzmission, Blue Ridge Pride, Campaign for Southern Equality, UNC Asheville's Trans Student Union and Land of the Sky United Church of Christ.

Last year some 250 people came to demonstrate support. Organizers hope to see even more in 2016.

"This year, in particular, we feel it is very important to mark Transgender Day of Remembrance in light of the vitriolic campaign of the president elect and the increases in hate crimes that we have seen across the board against all kinds of groups, for immigrants, for people practicing a specific religion and certainly the GLBT community," Christopoulos said.



GET INVOLVED

Local groups will mark the 18th International Transgender Day of Remembrance Sunday, Nov. 20th. The public is invited. Participants plan to meet near the U.S. Cellular Center at 5:30 p.m. and walk together to Pritchard Park, 67 Patton Ave.

The program, which honors and memorializes victims of transphobic violence, will begin at 6 p.m. Therapists will be on hand for people in need of emotional support. Hot beverages will be provided. For more information, contact Brynn Estelle at brynn@tranzmission.org or visit the event's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/events/1767266206867030/.