Transgender Day of Remembrance November 20, 2008

I received this as an email from the Communty of LGBT Centers. You can find out more about this organization at www.lgbtcenters.com

The Transgender Day of Remembrance, which honors the memory of those murdered because of anti-transgender prejudice, is recognized annually on November 20. CenterLink mourns the loss of those lost to violence and oppression and encourages you to take part in observances in you local area.

In 2007 the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Projects reported that 16% of their overall reports were anti-transgender motivated, and that 231 transgender women filed reports of violence. Attacks against transgender men went up 65%. According to the International Transgender Day of Remembrance website, there have been 14 known transgender people murdered during 2008 in the U.S. alone. As murders of transgender people are often underreported, or the identity of transgender murder victims are misreported, there is no way to know accurate numbers.

Local events may vary, so be sure to check with a local LGBT Center, Gay-Straight Alliance or other support group likely to be participating. Click on the links below for more information on observances at local community centers.

Wingspan
Tucson, AZ
http://wingspan.org/content/evt_details.php?event_id=2732

L A Gay & Lesbian Center
Los Angeles, CA
http://www.lagaycenter.org

Billy DeFrank LGBT Community Center
San Jose, CA
http://www.defrank.org/cgi-bin/calendar.pl?view=Event&event_id=7194&popup=1&clickday=20

The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Center of Baltimore
Baltimore, MD
http://www.eqmd.org/tdor

Affirmations
Ferndale, MI
http://www.goaffirmations.org

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center
New York, NY
http://www.gaycenter.org/node/1929

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center of Greater Cleveland
Cleveland, OH
http://lgcsc.org/thecenter/articles.php?req=read&article_id=77

Terry Stone
CenterLink
http://www.glbtcenters.org

©2008 MsQueer.com. All rights reserved.

2008 National Coming Out Day Video from HRC October 14, 2008

This speaks for itself…

 

All rights to this video belong to HRC 🙂 MsQueer

10th Annual “National Coming Out Day” Celebrated October 11th October 13, 2008

October 11^th has been designated “National Coming Out Day” since its origination in 1988 by Jean O’Leary  and Dr. Rob Eichberg in celebration of the Second National March on Washington, D.C. for Lesbian and Gay Rights held one year earlier. On that day 500,000 people marched on the Capitol of the United States on behalf of Equal Rights  for Gays and Lesbians.

(SEE: NY TImes/AP article about Jean O’Leary)

Today HRC (Human Rights Campaign) manages the event in the U.S., but the October 11^th date is also observed in a number of other countries around the globe, including Canada, Switzerland, Germany and The Netherlands. The United Kingdom marked “National Coming Out Day” on October 12^th. 

The Trevor Project, the nation’s only 24-7 Helpline for LGBT and Questioning Youth, published a “Should I Come Out? Quick Tips for Young People”

SEE: Should I Come Out?

Additional resources include: 

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Glossary of Terms, published by GLAAD (Gay Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation)  

http://www.glaad.org/media/guide/glossary.php

Coming Out: A Guide for Youth and Their Allies, published by GLSEN (Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network)

http://www.glsen.org/cgi-bin/iowa/all/library/record/1290.html 

HRC Resource Guide to Coming Out, published by Human Rights Campaign

http://www.hrc.org/documents/resourceguide_co.pdf

HRC Coming Out as Transgender Guide, published by Human Rights Campaign

http://www.hrc.org/documents/2071_HRC_Coming_Out.pdf

Transgender Glossary of Terms, published by GLAAD

http://www.glaad.org/media/guide/transfocus.php

There are, of course, many more resources online and in your communities. You will find them when you search online for “National Coming Out Day.” 

It is pure joy for me to see these kinds of organized activities publicly supported by national and international humanitarian groups, reported by national news sources, and recognized by Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Transgendered Persons and Allies. We have come a long way from the time of my youth, the 1950’s. I celebrate our progress, and look forward to the day when we won’t need a proclamation of a “Coming Out Day” because to do so will be so mundane as to be almost inconsequential. I look forward to the day when we truly celebrate the diversity that exists within each of us an individuals, as community, and as the global community of Humankind.

-MsQueer

©2008 MsQueer.com. All rights reserved.