Today is Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDoR), and we’re looking back at how Cumbrians have supported the transgender community, including those who have suffered violence and taken their own lives.

Transgender woman Joan Devereaux set up the Trans Lake GroupTransgender woman Joan Devereaux set up the Trans Lake Group (Image: Newsquest)
Also known as International Transgender Day of Remembrance, the occasion is observed annually to honour those who have been murdered as a result of transphobia.

Rachel Hubbard, a volunteer at the Sticky Bits LGBT cafe and drop in centre, remembers transgender people who took their own livesRachel Hubbard, a volunteer at the Sticky Bits LGBT cafe and drop in centre, remembers transgender people who took their own lives (Image: Newsquest)
It aims to draw attention to the continued violence directed toward transgender people.
The day was founded in 1999 by a small group including Gwendolyn Ann Smith, Nancy Nangeroni, and Jahaira DeAlto to commemorate the murders of Black transgender women Rita Hester in Allston, Massachusetts, and Chanelle Pickett in Watertown, Massachusetts.

Alice Polley (left) and Nuala spoke openly to the News and Star about the issues facing the transgender communityAlice Polley (left) and Nuala spoke openly to the News and Star about the issues facing the transgender community (Image: Newsquest)
After Hester’s death in 1998, Smith was surprised to realise that none of her friends remembered Pickett or her murder three years prior, saying: “It really surprised me that it had already, in a short period of time, been forgotten, and here we were with another murder at the same site.”

Lee Wicks from the Friends & Supporters of The Furness LGBT Community receives a cheque of £342 from Pauline Charnley of the Cumbria Community FoundationLee Wicks from the Friends & Supporters of The Furness LGBT Community receives a cheque of £342 from Pauline Charnley of the Cumbria Community Foundation (Image: Newsquest)
The first TDoR took place in November 1999 in Boston and San Francisco, as both Hester and Pickett’s deaths occurred in November.

The former Melting Pot building on Fisher Street about to become Carlisle's first lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender centreThe former Melting Pot building on Fisher Street about to become Carlisle's first lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender centre (Image: Newsquest)
The day continued to be observed annually on November 20, the anniversary of Pickett’s murder. In 2010, TDoR was observed in over 185 cities throughout more than 20 countries.

An anti-homophobic demonstration organised by friends and supporters of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Group outside Barrow Town HallAn anti-homophobic demonstration organised by friends and supporters of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Group outside Barrow Town Hall (Image: Newsquest)

Typically, a TDoR memorial includes a reading of the names of those who died from October 1 of the former year to September 30 of the current year, and may include other actions, such as candlelight vigils, dedicated church services, marches, art shows, food drives, and film screenings.

Pam Eland and Ros Willatt (left to right) dressed to impress outside Barrow Town Hall for an anti-homophobic demonstrationPam Eland and Ros Willatt (left to right) dressed to impress outside Barrow Town Hall for an anti-homophobic demonstration (Image: Newsquest)
GLAAD (formerly the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) has extensively covered the day, interviewing numerous transgender advocates, including actress Candis Cayne; profiling an event at the New York City LGBT Community Center, and discussing media coverage of it.

X Factor star Craig Colton was appearing at Cumbria Pride 2012 X Factor star Craig Colton was appearing at Cumbria Pride 2012 (Image: Newsquest)