Syracuse University to observe Transgender Day of Remembrance Thursday, Nov. 20, at noon at Hendricks Chapel

Syracuse University to observe Transgender Day of Remembrance Thursday, Nov. 20, at noon at Hendricks ChapelNovember 19, 2008Matthew R. Snydermrsnyder@syr.edu

On Thursday, Nov. 20, at noon in Hendricks Chapel, Syracuse University will observe the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance, a day to honor the hundreds of individuals who have lost their lives since 1970 due to violence against transgender people. The event is organized by SU’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Resource Center.

The murder of Latiesha Green (Moses Cannon) in Syracuse last week brings the crisis of such violence in the Central New York community into sharp focus and exemplifies the need for understanding and an end to anti-LGBT violence.

For Thursday’s event, the LGBT Resource Center has planned a special ceremony for the Transgender Day of Remembrance. The Rev. Tomi Jacobs, interdenominational Protestant campus minister, will offer the invocation for the hour-long program that will include shared poetry, personal reflections and a reading of the names of the deceased. The Rev. Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows, Episcopal/Anglican campus minister, will offer closing remarks.

Transgender Day of Remembrance began 10 years ago to memorialize those who were killed due to transphobia. The event is held each November to honor Rita Hester, whose murder on Nov. 28, 1998, launched the Remembering Our Dead Web project ( http://www.gender.org/remember/index.html) and a San Francisco candlelight vigil in 1999.

This program is open to students, staff, faculty and community members. Paid parking is available in the Irving Garage or the University Avenue Garage at an hourly rate of $3.25. For more information or driving directions, visit http://parking.syr.edu/parking/display.cfm?content_ID=%23%29%297%28%0A

Participants should be advised that while media may be present, photography and video will not be permitted inside the chapel. For more information, contact Lauren Adamski at 443-3983 or lbadamsk@syr.edu.