PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio)— Transgender individuals who lost their lives to targeted senseless violence hold a place in the hearts of those left behind. They are not merely a statistic or a sound bite after a tragedy.
This is why remembering them is important, according to those who gathered outside the front of the Bonnell Building at the Community College of Philadelphia on Monday.
The transgender flag with its pink, white and blue stripes was raised along with the American flag as gatherers remembered friends, family, and others in the trans community who fell victim to senseless violence.
Kendall Stevens, a CCP alum, civil rights activist and trans woman, also remembered five people killed and dozens of others shot in Colorado Springs this past weekend.
"My heart goes out to them, and I hope that we all can stand in solidarity for that community that is suffering right now [in] fear,” said Stevens.
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According to the Human Rights Council, 57 transgender people were fatally shot or killed last year, and the violence against trans people has been trending upward over the past decade. Before Saturday night’s shootings at Club Q in Colorado Springs, the council also released a report saying 32 more transgender and non-conforming people in the U.S. were killed this year.
Stevens also recalled a harrowing experience of her own.
"A group of transphobes burst into my home and beat me within a half inch of my life,” said Stevens. “This is the world that we're living in and where hate has run amok … hate has twisted and thwarted sense of community.”
"You should be able to live your life, live your truth without interference from anyone else,” said CCP Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Title IX Coordinator Lela Lawrence.
“That's why this is really important, so we can keep it front and center."
She and others who gathered at the ceremony say that it's important to not forget those who lost their lives for no other reason than being their authentic selves.
Vinni Scarfo, the coordinator of CCP’s Mark David LGBTQ Center, says safe spaces no longer feel safe.
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"To have to worry about gun violence and someone barging in the door just because we're existing is not only upsetting, but also triggering for a lot of folks who have past trauma with anti-LGBTQ violence,” said Vincent Scarfo, coordinator of CCP’s MarkDavid LGBTQ Center.
"It is making that space unsafe. It is making people feel that the only place where they can be themselves is no longer a safe space."
They say it's time for allies to stand up and help lift the burden from those who have been suffering.