Montrealers honour trans lives through vigil and protest

Nov. 20 marked the International Trans Day of Remembrance, Resistance and Rage

NewsTalia Granovsky Sand — Published November 22, 2024 0 minutes

After a land acknowledgment that recognized how colonization has bred systemic heteronormative values in Canada and worldwide, trans activist Alice Siregar spoke. In her speech, she laid out how the Trans Day of Remembrance was founded. 

“The reason we are here is thanks to Gwendolyn Smith in 1999, after Rita Hester was murdered a year prior,” Siregar said. Smith is an author and active member of the trans community who started the Trans Day of Remembrance a year after Hester’s death. 

Hester, a Black trans woman, was found stabbed to death in her apartment in Boston, Massachusetts, USA in 1998. Her murderer was never found, and her death has not been brought justice to this day. 
 
“Black transgender women make up for half of the murdered trans people in the last year,” Siregar added, “and [this] unfortunately doesn't take into account suicide.”

“If you’re in a room with one transphobe and nine people [are] telling you “It’s OK,” and they’re still friends with the transphobe, what do you have?” Celeste Trianon, a Montreal trans activist and co-organizer of the vigil, asked the crowd. 

“Ten transphobes!” responded the crowd.

Similar chants frequently reverberated throughout the night. Most of the speeches referenced other social issues currently being protested in Montreal and around the world. Many speakers linked the struggle for trans rights to other international struggles for liberation, from the United States to the Middle East to the environmental activists scaling the Jacques Cartier Bridge in protest of climate inaction.  

A speaker from Divest for Palestine, a chapter of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, emphasized the importance of recognizing all the queer lives that have been taken in Gaza, and every military occupation throughout history that has slashed a wound within the queer community. 

Also in attendance was Rhaenyra, who was granted an alias for safety reasons. Rhaenyra is a recent law school graduate seeking justice for members of the queer community who were met with tear gas and police resistance during a protest on Sept. 20., They were counter-protesting against far-right initiatives to ban schools from teaching topics related to gender identity. 

“Most importantly, I think we are here to look forward with some determination. We mourn the trans people who are no longer with us, the list that gets bigger and bigger every year,” Rhaenyra said. “We try to celebrate the victories that we have had with the people who are here, we try to make joy, because being trans isn’t a thing of sorrow, it is a thing of joy.” 

Aud Langelier, a representative of the Centre de Solidarité Lesbienne, was present at the protest. The organization provides Lesbian people access to services ranging from mental health resources to domestic violence aid.

“This day for us is to show solidarity to all our community, being a lesbian organization, we have members that are trans and non-binary,” Langelier said. “I think what I’ve seen is with the rise of far-right extremist hatred towards our communities, it’s even more important to show up today.”

“With the holiday season coming up, I implore everyone—whether you're trans or an ally—to speak up when something is said,” Rhaenyra said. “When you’re at the dinner table with your family and someone says something transphobic, you don’t have to attack your family, but don’t let them go ignorantly.”