Pride Center to host event on Transgender Day of Remembrance, Nov. 20

From: Pride Center

 

The Pride Center's annual Transgender Day of Remembrance event will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 20, at 6:30 p.m. in the Owens Ballroom.

 

The Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDoR), also known as the International Transgender Day of Remembrance, has been observed annually (from its inception) on Nov. 20 as a day to memorialize those who have been murdered as a result of transphobia. It is a day to draw attention to the continued violence endured by transgender people. Transgender Day of Remembrance was founded in 1999 by a small group including Gwendolyn Ann Smith to memorialize the murder of transgender woman Rita Hester in Allston, Massachusetts.

 

For this year's annual observance of TDOR, we will be joined virtually by Gavin Grimm. As a ninth grader in rural Virginia, Grimm stood against the Gloucester High School Board when it prohibited him from using the boys' restrooms. Initially, he won a U.S. Department of Education federal discrimination complaint and subsequently filed a federal civil rights lawsuit with assistance from the American Civil Liberties Union. This case lasted six and a half years and reached the U.S. Supreme Court twice. In August 2020, the Fourth Circuit Court upheld Grimm's victory against the school board, affirming that the board's policy violated Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution's 14th Amendment. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from the school board in June 2021, effectively endorsing the lower court's decision and confirming Grimm's constitutional rights.

The legal precedent set by Grimm's case impacts states within the Fourth Circuit — Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, and West Virginia — and it serves as a guideline for future legal challenges involving transgender rights.  

Following Grimm's words of wisdom and guidance, we will be writing letters of love, support, encourage, and concern to members of our campus and the greater community. We encourage all attendees to consider writing a letter to family members, friends, representatives, and the campus community sharing what's important to them in this moment.