Minnesota Legislative Queer Caucuses Honor Transgender Day of Remembrance
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Nov. 20 marks Transgender Day of Remembrance, an annual observance that honors the trans, Two-Spirit, intersex, and gender-expansive people whose lives were cut short in acts of transphobic, transmisogynistic, and racialized violence.
In a study by the Human Rights Campaign, in 2024, 78% of victims were people of color 56% were Black transgender women 63% were killed with a gun, 42% of victims with a known killer were killed by a romantic/sexual partner, friend, or family member 38% were misgendered or deadnamed by authorities or the press or are never categorized by authorities as Two Spirit, trans, or gender expansive at all.
The Minnesota House and Senate Queer Caucuses release the following statement:
“On Transgender Day of Remembrance, the memories of those we have lost weigh heavily on our hearts. Every day, members of our trans, Two-Spirit, intersex, and gender-expansive community must fight to live without fear and persecution for being who we are and the person we will become.
Indigenous Two-Spirit and trans peoples come from an unshakeable tradition and boundless futures. Two Spirits predate the United States, many have long been keepers of sacred roles and responsibilities as healers, teachers, and leaders. Today and every day, we remember our relatives who should still be with us – from Nex Benedict, Savannah Ryan Willams, to Sam Nordquist. We will never be wiped out — we are the resistance, the reclamation, and the resurgence. Honoring Two Spirit and trans relatives means fighting in solidarity against the colonial systems that continue to erase and endanger our lives, uplifting our wisdom, and protecting the futures that Two Spirit communities are building every day.
Transphobia and political scapegoating harm and kill our relatives every day. Black, Brown, and Indigenous trans women are disproportionately targeted and murdered at alarming rates—this must end. As we mourn, our grief becomes a call to action. We will never stop working to build a state that upholds civil liberties and champions gender freedoms for all Minnesotans.
Trans and Two Spirit peoples will always be here; we will always find a way to joy and self-determination, despite the forces working to deny and erase our existence. We, as legislators and community members, commit to fighting for our collective freedom every day.”
A group of trans women, including Gwendolyn Ann Smith, Nancy Nangeroni and Jahaira DeAlto, founded Transgender Day of Remembrance in 1999 to grieve the murders of Rita Hester and Chanelle Pickett, who were both killed in acts of transphobic violence in Massachusetts in the 1990s.
The Queer Legislators Caucus is composed of members of the Minnesota State House and Senate who identify as 2SLGBTQIA+. The Queer Caucus works to advance and protect the rights of the whole Queer community, as well as the rights of our intersecting communities.
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