It is just over a month since the shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida during Latinx night. Much of the media attention has died down but the fear, anger, and sadness remain for people of color in the Qeer community. Queer/Transphobia and racism continue to be a real and ever-present danger that has not gone away just because the cameras are off.
I am asking you to do only one thing: read the names of the Trans people that have been killed since the beginning of 2016 and the names of the Queer people killed in the Pulse night club shooting.
I think about being in a queer/gay/lesbian bar, laughing, drinking, dancing with friends. I felt free there. I fit in somehow, even if I wasn’t out, not even to myself. And now as a queer Filipina woman, in the wake of so many tragedies, I think twice about keeping the sides of my head shaved, being too “obviously” queer. Recently (days after the Pulse shooting) I had tickets to the Oakland A’s Pride Night and almost didn’t attend. Those are the ways that tragedy ripples out for those directly affected.
As an educator with 10+ years’ experience supporting and mentoring students and staff in diverse college settings such as Fresno State and UC Berkeley, I have seen the importance of solidarity in the face of tragedy. Watching students organize around “Day of Silence”; “Black Lives Matter”; and “Transgender Day of Remembrance” designed to support marginalized and oppressed communities as an avenue to remind students that they matter – even as oppression tells them they don’t.
It can be overwhelming and difficult to know how to support those in the Trans/Queer community if you do not identify as Queer/Trans. You may feel like you are doing more harm than good. And also, these large-scale tragedies are symptoms of oppression, so it is important to remain engaged and listen to those who continue to be affected.
In so many cultures throughout the world, we remember, we memorialize, we honor those in death: gravestones to mark where they are buried; marking anniversaries of the days when people died; we light candles; send thoughts; and ask others to remember.
In solidarity with our Trans/Queer relatives, friends, and ourselves, please read the names of some of the Trans People killed so far in 2016.
You can read these lists alone or with others, but please read them out loud.
Goddess Diamond, 20
Amos Beede, 38
Mercedes Successful, 32
Tyreece “Reecey” Walker, 32
Keyone Blakeney, 22
Shante Isaac, 34
Quartney Davia Dawson-Yochum, 32
Kedarie Kandicee Johnson, 16
Demarkis Stansberry, 30
Maya Young, 24
Veronica Banks Cano
Kayden Clarke, 24
Jasmine Sierra
Monica Loera
Please read the names of the victims of the Pulse Nightclub shooting.
Stanley Almodovar III, 23 years old
Amanda Alvear, 25 years old
Oscar A Aracena-Montero, 26 years old
Rodolfo Ayala-Ayala, 33 years old
Antonio Davon Brown, 29 years old
Darryl Roman Burt II, 29 years old
Angel L. Candelario-Padro, 28 years old
Juan Chevez-Martinez, 25 years old
Luis Daniel Conde, 39 years old
Cory James Connell, 21 years old
Tevin Eugene Crosby, 25 years old
Deonka Deidra Drayton, 32 years old
Simon Adrian Carrillo Fernandez, 31 years old
Leroy Valentin Fernandez, 25 years old
Mercedez Marisol Flores, 26 years old
Peter O. Gonzalez-Cruz, 22 years old
Juan Ramon Guerrero, 22 years old
Paul Terrell Henry, 41 years old
Frank Hernandez, 27 years old
Miguel Angel Honorato, 30 years old
Javier Jorge-Reyes, 40 years old
Jason Benjamin Josaphat, 19 years old
Eddie Jamoldroy Justice, 30 years old
Anthony Luis Laureanodisla, 25 years old
Christopher Andrew Leinonen, 32 years old
Alejandro Barrios Martinez, 21 years old
Brenda Lee Marquez McCool, 49 years old
Gilberto Ramon Silva Menendez, 25 years old
Kimberly Morris, 37 years old
Akyra Monet Murray, 18 years old
Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo, 20 years old
Geraldo A. Ortiz-Jimenez, 25 years old
Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera, 36 years old
Joel Rayon Paniagua, 32 years old
Jean Carlos Mendez Perez, 35 years old
Enrique L. Rios, Jr., 25 years old
Jean C. Nives Rodriguez, 27 years old
Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosado, 35 years old
Christopher Joseph Sanfeliz, 24 years old
Yilmary Rodriguez Solivan, 24 years old
Edward Sotomayor Jr., 34 years old
Shane Evan Tomlinson, 33 years old
Martin Benitez Torres, 33 years old
Jonathan Antonio Camuy Vega, 24 years old
Juan P. Rivera Velazquez, 37 years old
Luis S. Vielma, 22 years old
Franky Jimmy Dejesus Velazquez, 50 years old
Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon, 37 years old
Jerald Arthur Wright, 31 years old
When we read these names we remember the human lives that were taken because they were brave enough to claim their human right to breathe and live in the only way they knew how.