It’s a solemn occasion for members of Thunder Bay’s LGBTQ+ community as they mark Transgender Day of Remembrance.
Transgender Day of Remembrance was founded in 1999 by Gwendolyn Ann Smith. It was meant to remember Rita Hester, a transgender woman who was killed the year before.
A ceremony tonight is being put on by Pride Central and the Métis Nation of Ontario.
MNO Victim Services Co-ordinator Milo Muloin explains the ceremony tonight is meant to remember all transgender people around the world who died this year because of violence.
The event featuring speeches, music, and an indoor electronic candle-light vigil is tonight from 7 to 9 o’clock at the Lakehead University Study Coffeehouse.
Muloin notes that while there has been progress and more acceptance of transgender people in Thunder Bay, discrimination still happens here.
“Sometimes, the one negative thing is louder than the 20 positive things,” they note. “That can be really devastating for someone who’s walking down the street and may experience homophobia or transphobia. And it does happen–because it has happened to me.”
