The LGBTQ+ Resource Center and The 2SLGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group will mark Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDoR) on Monday, November 20 and we invite the Humber community (staff, faculty and students) to join us.
About Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDoR)
Transgender Day of Remembrance (Monday, November 20) has been observed around the world since 1999. TDoR was created by trans advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith to honour and memorialize Rita Hester, a Black trans woman who was killed and subsequently since, this day is a vigil to commemorate the trans, Two-Spirit, nonbinary and gender nonconforming people’s lives that were lost in acts of transphobia and anti-trans violence.
On Transgender Day of Remembrance, we come together as a community to raise awareness about transphobia and prejudice resulting in anti-trans hate crimes and multiple lost lives. We also carve out time and space to honor and commemorate the loss of trans lives, particularly those of trans women of colour, that are often dismissed by mainstream media despite many being at the forefront of queer and trans liberation justice movements. Finally, this is a specific day of significance to express our love and care for the victims of transphobic violence and trans antagonism through honoring their lives and personhood as a community.
Humber College and the University of Guelph-Humber will be recognizing Transgender Day of Remembrance on November 20 by lowering flags at our campuses to half-staff.
You can join in several events both in-person at the North and Lakeshore campuses.
TDoR Events at Humber
Transgressions
Date: Wednesday, November 15
Time: 3 to 4 p.m. at Lake and North LGBTQ+ Resource Centre
Transgressions is a peer led program that aims to build community, share stories, and co-create new and insightful strategies to challenge transphobia in the lives of folks who identify as trans, two-spirit, non-binary, gender non-conforming or those questioning their gender identity.
This program is a closed program and is only open to students who identify as trans, Two-Spirit, non-binary, gender non-conforming or those questioning their gender identity.
TDOR Tree Dedication Ceremony
Date: Monday November 20
Time: 9 a.m. - North Campus, LRC First Floor
The Tree Dedication Ceremony will be a ceremony held on the morning of November 20 to honour the trans, Two-Spirit, nonbinary and gender nonconforming people’s lives that have been lost in acts of transphobia and anti-trans violence. The 2SLGBTQ+ ERG and Arboretum staff have selected a tree and will be installing a plaque in the Arboretum to honour these lives. If it sunny, or if it is raining a little, we will walk from the LRC to the Arboretum. We will then have the Tree Dedication Ceremony next to the selected tree. Outdoor footwear is encouraged. If the weather is too inclement, we will stay in the LRC for the short Tree Dedication Ceremony. All members of the community are invited to the Tree Dedication Ceremony.
Remembering Trans Lives
Date: Monday, November 20 to Friday, November 24
Location: North Campus, E Concourse and Lakeshore Campus, 2nd Floor Welcome Centre
Join the LGBTQ+ Resource Centre where we will honor and celebrate trans people’s lives by recognizing the names of the reported trans lives lost in 2023 and ask members of the Humber community to have a moment of reflection and leave words of support and love to the Trans community on a community banner.
TDoR QRAFTY
Date: Wednesday, November 22
Time: 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. - North and Lake LGBTQ+ Resource Centre
Join the LGBTQ+ Resource Centre in creating memorial paper bag lanterns honoring Trans Day of Remembrance. All supplies will be provided to participants and there is no need to register. This event is aimed at 2SLGBTQ+ students however aspiring allies, faculty, and staff are also welcome to attend but please be respectful of the community spaces and resources, and that this is a grieving time for the queer and trans communities.
TDoR Movie Screening
Date: Thursday, November 23
Time: 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. - North and Lake LGBTQ+ Resource Centre
Join the LGBTQ+ Resource Centre for a screening of Paris is Burning. Chronicling the world of fierce performance and competition at Harlem drag balls during the 1980s, Jennie Livingston's Paris is Burning is a groundbreaking exploration of race, class, gender, and sexuality. The documentary follows the lives of Dorian Corey, Will Ninja, Sol, Freddie and Kim Pedavis, Octavia St. Laurent, Angie and Venus Xtravaganza, and Pepper LaBeija as they perform and tell their respective stories. This event is aimed at 2SLGBTQ+ students however aspiring allies, faculty, and staff are also welcome to attend but please be respectful of the community spaces and resources, and that this is a grieving time for the queer and trans communities.
If you have any questions in regard to the LGBTQ+ Resource Centre events please email: lgbtq@humber.ca
On behalf of LGBTQ+ Resource Center & The 2SLGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group, we encourage you to attend an event, pause, and reflect on how you/we can strengthen our support and stand in solidarity with the trans, Two-Spirit, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming communities at Humber College and the University of Guelph-Humber.