
The alter at Transgender Day of Remembrance, West Hollywood. Photo by Alexis Sanchez
âRemember not how they were taken from us,â said Jaye Johnson, chair of the City of West Hollywoodâs Transgender Advisory Board, âbut the beauty that we [still] have access to.â
Such words of remembrance for the lives of trans people taken from the world too early were spoken to an audience of about 500 people in the auditorium of the Center for Early Education on Alfred Street.
Nearby colorful banners and posters reading âHonesty, Inclusion, Responsibility, Caringâ and âAcceptance Is Seeing With Your Heart, Not With Your Eyesâ hung from the walls, fitting accompaniments to the eveningâs purpose.
West Hollywood Mayor John Heilman followed Johnson at the podium, striking a solemn tone when he said trans people are often the âmost visible and, therefore, most subject to violence.â Giving a âshout outâ to the eventâs organizers from City Hall, particularly Bonnie Smith, Heilman acknowledged a representative from Congressmember Adam Schiffâs office in attendance.
WeHo City Council members Lauren Meister and Lindsay Horvath followed the mayor. âWe support you,â Meister said, âand support you until there are zero namesâ to remember on this day. She added: âThere is a lot of hope,â a reference to last Tuesdayâs elections, particularly in Virginia where a trans woman, Danica Roem, was elected to an American state legislature for the first time and a trans woman, Lisa Middleton, was elected to the Palm Springs City Council.
âIt is an honor to be of service to this community,â Horvath said. âI cannot say enough how much the trans community means to the City of West Hollywood.â
Alma Rose, a spiritual leader who traveled to WeHo from New Mexico, led a small group of people dressed in indigenous-influenced costumes in Native American prayers as a âceremonial blessing.â Rose said she was âhonoring the four directionsâ of north, south, east and west, traditions that originated with the Aztecs.
The names of murdered trans people were then read aloud.
Prior to the ceremony, attendees congregated in the schoolâs outdoor courtyard for free hors dâoeuvres under strings of illuminated white lights.
Two large, colorful altars honored the dead. One was illuminated by tea lights and featured framed photos of trans people. The second altar featured signs reading, âTrans Power: Rise Up As Oneâ and âHealth 4 Allâ with a digital display of the trans victims.
Adjacent to the alters was an information table with brochures entitled âTransgender Visibility: A Guide to Being Youâ and âKnow Your Rights: Transgender Student Rights at School.â
At one point, woman blew into a Conch shell, sending a mournful tone of grief into the crowd.
Lindsay Garfield, a young singer, musician and cocktail waitress at Saint Felix on Santa Monica Blvd., described why she was there. âI want to raise my own awareness,â she said. âItâs so devastating.â She added: the trans community is âa very beautiful community, and also a very vulnerable community.â
Two students from Glendale Community College traveled from Highland Park and Silverlake to check out the event. Milo, 21, identified himself as ânon-binary trans-masculine queerâ before adding, âOh, of color.â He was there because âI like being in places with a lot of trans people.â
Yali, 22, said he came âout of support and not really understanding anything.â He added: âIâm not sure of my gender identity. Iâm just trying to figure it out. It seemed to be an important event.â
Johnny, a 65-year-old trans woman, âcame outâ as her âauthentic selfâ four years ago. Â âI lived as a male dude, an alpha male,â Johnny said, now asking: âWhatâs my pronoun?â He/She/Him/Her? âI am all those things.â
âIâm happy with whoever I am,â Johnny added. âIf you donât have the right descriptive word for meâŚIâm just myself. I could even be a âthey,â I donât know.â
What kind of future social change do attendees want to see? Without hesitation, all three millennials raised a topic very much in the news lately. âItâs really hard for people who are non-gender conforming,â Garfield said, âto use public restrooms. It makes it very difficult for them to live in the world.â
âI would love a gender-neutral bathroom,â said Milo, âso I can stop doing the guesswork.â
âAnd, he added, âalso for the murders to stop.â