Transgender Day of Remembrance

Rainbow badge and text TRANSGENDER DAY OF REMEMBRANCE on color background (123RF)

Origins and Importance

Transgender Day of Remembrance, which falls on November 20th, was founded in 1999 by transgender advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith to honor the memory of Rita Hester, a transgender woman who was killed in 1998. This vigil, which began as a way to remember transgender people lost to violence, has grown into an annual tradition, shining a light on the ongoing reality of anti-transgender violence.

“With so many seeking to erase transgender people—sometimes in the most brutal ways possible—it is vitally important that those we lose are remembered, and that we continue to fight for justice.” - Gwendolyn Ann Smith

Smith’s words continue to resonate today.

Each year, we are reminded of the heavy toll that anti-transgender violence exacts on individuals, families and communities.

Say Their Name

It is vital to say the names of those who have lost their lives to violence, especially those from the transgender community, whose identities are often erased in death as they were in life. Each name represents a human being whose life was tragically cut short, and saying their names is an act of remembrance, resistance and love.

At least 27 transgender and gender-expansive people have been killed so far in the United States in the past year – 42 percent of whom were Black transgender women, and more than 70 percent of whom were victims of color, according to the Human Rights Campaign. In some cases, arrests have been made, while in others, justice has yet to be served. In any given year, the number is likely much higher than reported due to deadnaming, which means referring to a victim by their birth name rather than their chosen name, and misgendering.

We must all continue to fight back against the ongoing senseless violence against trans-people, especially Black trans-women, and particularly against gun violence of any and all kinds. Studies show that 30 percent of transgender individuals have been unhoused at some point in their lives, which further endangers them and puts them in the path of fatal violence.

Transgender flag painted on a clenched fist. (inkdrop (123RF))

Transgender and Gender-Expansive Victims of Violence

*Editor’s Warning: Some content below may not be age-appropriate for younger readers*

1. Savannah Ryan Williams (38) Williams died Nov. 29, 2023 of a gunshot to the head. Damarean Kaylon Bible, 25, has been sentenced to more than three decades in prison for second-degree murder in her death. He told police he shot her after she performed oral sex on him. He said he had become “suspicious” and “had to do it,” according to police.

2. Amber Minor (40) Minor was found in a driveway in Raytown, Missouri. on the morning of Dec. 24, 2023. Much local coverage misgendered and deadnamed Minor. However, Kansas City activists confirmed her trans identity.

3. Meghan Riley Lewis Lewis was shot and killed on Dec. 27, 2023 at her apartment complex in Bel Air, Maryland., near Baltimore. A food delivery driver, Brian Delen, 47, has been charged with murder, assault and weapons charges. He was released to home detention on GPS monitoring on Dec. 29th.

4. Kitty Monroe (43) Killed on Jan.1, 2024 in Phoenix, Arizona. Monroe was run over by a truck driven by a man who had been chasing her.

5. Sasha Williams (36) Williams was stabbed to death on Jan. 26, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Hassan Malik Howard, 20, has been arrested and charged with her murder.

6. África Parrilla García (25) García was shot multiple times on Feb. 2, 2024 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She was impoverished and unhoused. There has been no arrest to date.

7. Righteous Torrence “TK” Hill (35) Hill was shot to death on Feb. 28, 2024 outside his home in East Point, Georgia. His cousin, Jaylen Hill, is the suspect and remains a fugitive.

8. Reyna Hernandez (54) Hernandez was found dead in Mexicali, Mexico in early March after going missing on Feb. 26, 2024. Her case is being investigated as a homicide.

9. Diamond Brigman (36) Brigman was fatally shot on March 16, 2024 in Houston, Texas. Walter Daniel Saravia Palacios, 35, has been arrested and charged with her murder.

10. Alex “Boo” Taylor Franco (21) Franco was abducted and killed on March 17, 2024 in Taylorsville, Utah. His body was found two days later, and three suspects have been arrested.

11. Meraxes Medina (24) Mediana was a 24-year-old Latina trans-woman and makeup artist that had experienced homelessness. Police found her on the street on the south side of Los Angeles, having been shot in the head. She had been dumped from a car. An arrest was made 10 days later. Authorities did not report a motive.

12. Yella Clark (45) Clark was killed in a fight with other inmates at the Louisiana State Penitentiary on April 2, 2024. An investigation is ongoing, Clark has been deadnamed and misgendered in local reports. Trans prisoners are five times more likely than cisgender inmates to be sexually assaulted by prison staffers and more than nine times more likely to be sexually assaulted by fellow inmates, according to the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey.

13. Tee Arnold (36) A black transgender man known to his friends and family as Lagend Billions, Arnold was shot on April 3, 2024 in Hallandale Beach, Florida, and died four days later. Police are still searching for a female suspect who was known to him, but no arrest has been made.

14. River Nevaeh Goddard (17, nonbinary) Goddard was found dead on April 5, 2024 in Stow, Massachusetts, after going missing two years ago. Their boyfriend has been charged with the murder.

15. Starr Brown Brown, a Black transgender woman from Memphis, was shot and killed on April 19, 2024 after her work shift. Alexavier Williamson, 20, has confessed to the crime and has been charged with second-degree murder.

16. Andrea Doria Dos Passos (37) Passos, a transgender woman experiencing homelessness, was brutally beaten to death on April 23, 2024 in Miami Beach, Florida. Gregory Fitzgerald Gibert, 53, has been charged with first-degree murder and is being held without bond.

17. Kita Bee (46) Bee, a Black transgender woman, was killed in a hit-and-run accident on May 3, 2024 in Kansas City, Missouri. One driver has been identified, and charges are pending, but it remains unclear if foul play was involved.

18. Jazlynn Johnson (18) Johnson was shot and killed on May 6, 2024 in Las Vegas. A 17-year-old, Cesar Sandoval, has been charged with her murder and is being held at Clark County Juvenile Hall. Police had responded to a call from a man who said his son told him he’d shot a friend. Johnson’s murder is the latest in a pattern of senseless deaths among transgender, nonbinary and gender-nonconforming youth across America who face rampant harassment and violence simply because of who they are.

19. Tayy Dior Thomas (17) Thomas, a transgender girl from Mobile, Alabama was shot and killed on May 7, 2024. Her alleged killer, Carl Washington Jr., 20, her long-term boyfriend, has been charged with her murder. Thomas was initially misgendered and identified by her deadname in media reports. Family members believe that Washington killed Thomas out of fear that their relationship would be made public, and expressed concern that police were not investigating the killing as a hate crime.

20. Michelle Henry (25) Henry, a Black transgender woman, was strangled and stabbed to death on May 15, 2024 in San Francisco. Raymani Yuhashi, 33, has been arrested and charged with murder.

21. Liara Kaylee Tsai (35) A well-regarded transgender woman and volunteer with The Trevor Project, Tsai was found dead on June 22, 2024 in Minnesota. Her former partner, Margot Lewis, has been charged with second-degree murder and tampering with a body.

22. Pauly A. Likens (14) Likens, a transgender girl, was brutally murdered and dismembered in Pennsylvania. Last seen June 22, 2024, her remains were found June 25th in a lake. DaShawn Watkins, 29, is charged with first-degree murder, aggravated assault, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence. In the early hours of June 23rd, the teenager posted on Snapchat that she had gone on a late-night walk. When Watkins was detained by police on July 2nd, he told authorities that he recently met with a person he had met on Grindr, who police said matched Likens’ description.

23. Kenji Spurgeon (23) Spurgeon, a Black transgender woman, was shot to death on July 1, 2024 in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. The investigation is ongoing, and detectives do not believe she was targeted for being trans. No arrests have been made.

24. Shannon Boswell (30) A Black transgender woman, Boswell was shot and left in the street in Stone Mountain, Georgia, on July 2, 2024. Despite her family’s pleas for justice, no arrests have been made. Initial local media reports of Boswell’s death misgendered her until her mother, Tammy Boswell, identified her to local a local TV station as a transgender woman.

25. Monique Brooks (49) A beloved transgender woman and community activist, Brooks was shot and killed on July 19, 2024 in Orlando, Florida. Police are still searching for leads, and no suspects have been identified.

26. Dylan Gurley (20) A transgender woman from Texas, Gurley was stabbed and strangled to death on July 23, 2024. She lived in the town of Little Elm and was unhoused at the time she was killed. Michael Tooley has been charged with the murder; both were staying at an abandoned property.

27. Tai’Vion Lathan (24) Lathan, a Black transgender woman, was shot and left to die in an alley in Baltimore, Maryland on August 4, 2024. Police are actively investigating, but no suspects have been apprehended.

Each of these individuals has their own story and should be remembered for who they were. It is vital to continue advocating for their dignity and ensuring that their stories are told.

Visit the Human Rights Campaign website for statistical information and action items that are being done against violence toward trans individuals.