Why We Remember Those Lost To Anti-Trans Violence

by Dr. Darlene Wagner in Faith & Witness

In recent years, transgender people and LGBTQ+ people as a whole have faced increasing challenges at the hands of governments, right-wing think tanks, internet influencers and hate groups as wrong-headed ideologies fuel the ongoing violence against those whose gender expression violates artificial norms.

It’s why, every year since 1999, November 20 has served as Transgender Day of Remembrance, a time to mourn the loss of trans, non-binary and two-spirit people lost to street- and state-level violence.

Every year, we hope this will be the last one.  And every year, we re-convene.

The act of memorializing trans, non-binary and two-spirit people lost to violence serves to raise up the most vulnerable in our community. More recently, the days leading up November 20 have been observed as Transgender Awareness Week — proof that no government, no ideology, no criminal, no deranged mob can take away our divinity.

This year we mourned 29 trans, non-binary or two-spirit people identified as victims of violence that occurred in the U.S. since the last TDOR. In 2022 that number was 47. Was this year’s lower number due to an actual decrease in violent crime — or was it muted by shoddy reporting from a poorly funded government? No matter. Even if the number is one, they must be honored in the name of the friends and family who loved them.

These are the names of those whose deaths due to suspected hate crime we honored this year:

  • Kyla Jane Walker, 39 years old, run over, 11/10/2024, Austin, Texas
  • Quanesha “Cocoa” Shantel, 25 years old, shot, 11/10/2024, Greensboro, N.C.
  • Ra’lasia Wright, 25 years old, shot, 12/1/2024, Minneapolis, Minn.
  • Cam Thompson, 18 years old, shot, 12/16/2024, Tuscaloosa, Ala.
  • Aubrey Dameron, 25 years old, missing and remains found 1/31/2025, Ottawa County, Okla.
  • Tahiry Broom, 29 years old, shot, 2/11/2025, Southfield, Mich.
  • Sam Nordquist, 24 years old, tortured to death, 2/14/2025, Canandaigua, N.Y.
  • Ervianna Johnson, 25 years old, murdered, 2/16/2025, Tabor City, N.C.
  • Amyri Dior, 23 years old, shot, 2/21/2025, Milwaukee, Wisc.
  • Kaitoria Le’Cynthia Bankz, 31 years old, shot, 3/31/2025, Autaugaville, Ala.
  • Kelsey Elem, 25 years old, shot, 4/24/2025, St. Louis, Mo.
  • Shy’Parius Dupree, 32 years old, shot, 5/17/2025, Memphis, Tenn.
  • Karmin Wells, 25 years old, shot, 5/24/2025, Detroit, Mich.
  • Jonathan Joss, 59 years old, shot defending trans partner, 6/1/2025, San Antonio, Texas
  • Jax Gratton, 34 years old, body found after going missing, 6/6/2025, Colorado, Colo.
  • Hope Lyca Youngblood, 49 years old, run over, 6/7/2025, Los Angeles, Calif.
  • Laura Schueler, 47 years old, shot, 6/7/2025, Cincinnati, Ohio
  • J. J. Godbey, 26 years old, murdered, 6/19/2025, Canton, Ohio
  • Christina Hayes, 28 years old, strangled, 6/21/2025, Detroit, Mich.
  • Kamora Woods, 27 years old, shot, 6/27/2025, Indianapolis, Ind.
  • Dream Johnson, 28 years old, shot, 7/5/2025, Washington D.C.
  • Rosa Machuca, 24 years old, shot, 8/11/2025, Austin, Texas
  • Blair A. Sawyer, 27 years old, run over, 8/11/2025, Louisville, K.
  • Onyx Cornish, 18 years old, shot by adoptive father, 8/18/2025, Caldwell, Idaho
  • Kasi “Kaeyy Holmes” Rhea, 31 years old, shot, 8/18/2025, Lynchburg, Va.
  • Aurora “Alexa / Luna” Pellegrina, 35 years old, found in abandoned house, 8/18/2025, Lawnside, N.J.
  • Tiara Love Tori Jackson, 37 years old, shot, 9/26/2025, Charlotte, N.C.

Deaths due to contact with law enforcement:

  • Linda Becerra Moran, 30 years old, shot by responding officers after calling for rescue from sex traffickers, 2/27/2025, Los Angeles, Calif.
  • Norah Horwitz, 38 years old, committed suicide in jail custody, 4/7/2025, Virginia Beach, Va.

While it has not yet been determined which of these 29 violent deaths are the result of individual acts or state-sponsored foul play, each of these people was beloved by their family and friends and will be mourned. These deaths represent failures of the U.S. justice system and failures of community and spiritual leadership worldwide. Transgender, nonbinary and two-spirit people are human beings born in the Divine Image and will not be erased!

An additional 20 trans and non-binary deaths since TDOR 2024 were suicides. I have not counted suicides for TDOR in previous years. But with the recent dismantling of the national 988 suicide and crisis lifeline’s LGBTQ+ Youth Specialized Services program — which means those who call 988 will no longer have the option to “press 3,” “text PRIDE,” or connect via online chat to a counselor who is trained in supporting LGBTQ+ young people under age 25 — the counting has become that much harder.

The suicides of two promising young leaders in the trans community were particularly devastating: Lia Smith, in Cornwall, Vt., and Marisol Payero in Kennesaw, Ga. Such losses from self-directed violence represent failures of the mental health system and failures of community and spiritual leadership.

Despite the rightist government’s cuts to the 988 system, free counseling is still available to LGBTQ+ individuals. The Trans Lifeline offers counseling without the threat of law enforcement referrals at (877) 565-8860. In addition, the Trevor Project offers hotline resources by either calling 1-866-488-7386 or texting ‘START’ to 678-678.

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