Transgender Day of Remembrance began in 1999 as a way to honor and remember those in the transgender community who were killed in acts of violence.

Tyler residents gathered at Bergfeld Park to observe Transgender Day of Remembrance, which is held annually on Nov. 20 to honor the memory of transgender people whose lives were lost in acts of violence.

TENET (Transgender Equality Network East Texas) hosted a candlelight vigil Monday night to remember those who died and also speak out for the community as a whole.

The gathering was small, but the voices were mighty . Attendees called the names of those who lost their lives to senseless violence

Surrounding the memorial site of Nicholas West — a Tyler man who was abducted in 1993 then beaten, robbed and killed in a clay pit in Noonday — East Texas Rainbow Network Co-Founder Hannah Morris asked the attendees if they were tired of having to have vigils.

Clutching their candles and rainbow flags, many nodded their heads in agreement.

“Are you not tired of being angry?” she said. “Are you not tired of … being tired?”

In 1999, advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith started a simple vigil to honor the memory of Rita Hester and Chanelle Pickett, two Black transgender women who were murdered in the 1990s.

Since then, communities across the country have honored the day each Nov. 20, including in East Texas.

According to GLAAD and the Human Rights Campaign, there have been at least 26 documented killings of transgender people so far in 2023; however, there could be a much higher number, Morris said.

“One of the problems with whenever we are killed is that sometimes the news in our local community… a lot of the time, a lot of deaths get erased because their families are not affirming, the police are not aware or something happens and people get misgendered in the news,” Morris said. “So, we never really know how many are gone because of the inconsistencies and reporting of their deaths.”

That’s why local activists believe it’s important to honor Transgender Day of Remembrance, especially those who are of color, as they make up at least 88 percent of those killed in transphobic violence.

“Admittedly, I have not seen a strong effort to be more inclusive, more open… to the Black and brown trans community,” Morris said. “We need to do better.”

According to Morris, appearance from the Black and Latinx transgender communities has been scarce since the vigil for Ty Underwood, a transgender Black woman who was killed in Tyler in 2015.

“It’s very difficult to get more diversity in spaces if we are not working on ourselves,” they said. “Like, what are we doing to make someone feel unsafe at an event? We need to pinpoint it and correct it. We just need to do better.”

However, Morris said while taking the time to reflect and honor those lost is time well spent, they hope people will see more of the LGBTQ+ community’s enrichment and positive initiatives and less of their pain.

“I hope that this is the beginning of where we are (seen) celebrating ourselves, where we are enjoying ourselves and being enriched by our community, and not just having to have a moment to call each other in like we often have to do,” Morris said.

Organizations like East Texas Rainbow Network, Tyler Area Gays, Alphabet Army and East Texas Rainbow Network continuously try to spread the word of events — such as the Rainbow Market and games — happening in the community. These are open to everyone in the community, Morris added.

“I’d love to see more people embrace the idea that you don’t have to be one of us personally to love us and support the organizations that are making our areas beautiful,” Morris said. “There’s a lot of hairdressers, there’s a lot of artists, there’s a lot of musicians… whatever in the queer community that makes life enjoyable, and we can’t make life enjoyable for everybody if we’re struggling.”

While slow progress is good progress, advocates feel East Texas has a long way to go.

“We’re definitely making huge strides in East Texas,” said Michael Wright, a local transgender man. “But between the political climate and the religious atmosphere, we still have a long way to go in terms of acceptance.”

Whether it’s in East Texas, the state of Texas or globally, finding a place to feel safe is a struggle, Wright said. Wright is from East Texas but is currently a student at the University of Texas in Austin, where he often visits the LGBTQ+ resource center on campus.

“I make jokes… about the LGBTQ resource center at the University of Texas at Austin functioning more like a bomb shelter than an actual community of kids thriving because everyone is so scared about their fates, especially especially young queer people because we see and we internalize the violence we see for our queer elders and people older than us in general,” he said. “It’s a really scary thing to perceive. It’s really scary to live in that reality and where we have to fear for our lives just because of the way we present ourselves.”

For those who may be still finding themselves within the LGBTQ+ community, local advocates and allies say there is a home for everyone.

“For all the people that weren’t here tonight, all the people who can’t be here, I see you,” Morris said. “You have a space here. You have a space at the table and we will find you one day and you will join us. There is a space for you within the queer community… hang in there.”