ichigan State international relations junior Lyra Opalikhin reads a poem titled "Our Stardust" during the university's Transgender Day of Remembrance event at Erickson Hall on Nov. 20, 2024. The annual observance honors the memory of people whose lives were lost in acts of anti-transgender violence.
People gathered on campus Wednesday evening to grieve the loss of those who have been murdered due to transphobia.
The event, Transgender Day of Remembrance, was held in the Erickson Kiva where students and other community members gathered to memorialize transgender people who have died by suicide or murder, and cisgender people killed as a direct result of transphobic violence in the past year.
Transgender Day of Remembrance occurs annually and was started 25 years ago in 1999 by transgender advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith as a vigil to honor Rita Hester, a transgender woman who was killed the year prior.
The event was presented in partnership with the Gender and Sexuality Campus Center, The Alliance of Queer and Allied Students, Women*s Council, Salus Center, TransAction, MSU Libraries, Associated Students of Michigan State University and the Center for Gender in Global Context.
Oprah Jrenal, assistant director for the Gender and Sexuality Campus Center, gave opening remarks. She said that transgender people have existed in all communities, cultures and countries since the beginning of time, and will continue to do so.
"Trans people have been here and will continue to be here," Jrenal said.
She explained that this day serves as a space to build community and awareness about the realities and persistence of anti-trans violence.
"We stand here today, 25 years later, with a similar drive to honor, remember, respect and grieve those who have died in this way," Jrenal said.
She said Black transgender women are especially vulnerable in their community, with them being a significant portion of those who were grieved Wednesday night.
"Transphobia has been extremely linked to racism," Jrenal said.
The people whose names were read Wednesday night, she said, led amazing lives that were important to their communities.
"Some were dancers, some loved animals and had multiple pets," Jrenal said. "One person would check on possums on the side of the road to make sure that the babies weren't in the pouch. And so those are the folks we're honoring tonight, real humans that were in this world and were taken from us."
Lucas Trainor, a mechanical engineering junior, spoke to the audience about his upbringing and experience of joining the queer community. He said he grew up in a very conservative town in New Jersey.
"So being queer was not something I ever thought I was allowed to do," Trainor said.
It was with the support of his friends that coming out as transgender became easier, he said.
"I am where I am because of the community," Trainor said.
It was when he and his friends attended a Pride event in Greenwich Village that he felt like he was surrounded by people who knew his struggles, he said.
"I finally found a place where I truly, undoubtedly belong," Trainor said.
But his community hurts, Trainor explained.
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"I've watched people make plans A through Z of what to do in case certain laws are passed," he said. "I've watched people share their emergency contact information just in case. We are going through hard times right now. We've been watching our community suffer for years, and with the current political climate, it's really hard to imagine any positive changes, and that's why community is more important. If we have nothing else, we will have each other."
Trainor said those in the audience should take the time to feel their emotions and connect with others, reminding people that they are in this fight together.
"Things are uncertain right now, and it's OK to be worried, but do not let them take your joy," Trainor said. "Our existence alone is an act of defiance, but our joy, our joy is an act of rebellion."
Afterwards, the room became silent as humanities pre-law sophomore Alex Guo and political science pre-law freshman Ares Orion read through names of those who have died in the past year due to anti-trans violence.
The room took a moment of silence after the final name was read, and Lee Sayles, a founding member of the Salus Center, where LGBTQ+ community members in Lansing gather, read a poem to the room.
He said surviving is how they honor those who have died.
"How do we survive?" Sayles said. "First, we refuse. We refuse to accept this level of violence against our siblings, we refuse the hatred and the condemnation, and while we refuse, we find solace in those who accept us as ourselves."
The strength to survive and fight against bigotry exists in the people who gathered for the remembrance night, Sayles said.
"You are my refuge, I am yours," he said. "No one said it was going to be easy, but I see you and I love you, and we go on. Going on expresses our love, going on honors our lost loved ones. We are the agents of love."
