Pop Culture

Things We Saw Today: President-Elect Joe Biden Honors Transgender Day of Remembrance

Joe Biden honors transgender day of remembrance

November 20th is Transgender Day of Remembrance, coming at the close of Transgender Awareness Week. The day was founded in 1999 by Gwendolyn Ann Smith to memorialize the murder of Rita Hester in Massachusetts. It has evolved into a day meant to honor and remember those who have been killed as a result of anti-trans violence, as well as calling attention to the pervasive violence that trans people can be subject to worldwide. It is a solemn day, and an incredibly vital one.

As I went searching for tweets to feature, my breath caught when the first one I saw was Joe Biden’s. The importance of having a President-Elect who honors this day—rather than the lame-duck “President” who has actively worked against trans people, weakened protections, and sparked further intolerance—cannot be overstated.

This is the first time we’ve seen such a step from a President-elect, and Biden’s statement is unflinching: “Know that my administration will see you, listen to you, and fight for not only your safety but also the dignity and justice you have been denied.”

Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris also tweeted in honor of the day.

It’s encouraging to see that recognizing and honoring Transgender Day of Remembrance has grown immensely on social media, and continues to grow with each passing year. Many political figures, celebrities, and brands are jumping in to tweet their support. All of the statements and platitudes in the world, however, will fall flat if we do not see real action.

Those of us who are allies must hold ourselves, our associates, our communities, and our politicians accountable. It is not enough to simply advocate for an end to this awful violence. We must strike down discriminatory policies in medicine and bureaucracy on a global scale, and create policies of protection and affirmation. We must work to drown out the abject ignorance that has spread online. We must tell our trans and gender-nonconforming friends and family members how much we love them and how we will fight for them. We must fight. We must be allies always keen to listen and learn, and to listen and learn some more. Every day we must uplift the refrain that trans rights are human rights.

And today, we remember and say their names.

Here are some other things we saw to mark Transgender Day of Remembrance.

(image: Joe Biden on Twitter/screengrab)

Want more stories like this? Become a subscriber and support the site!

The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—

Have a tip we should know? tips@themarysue.com

Products You May Like

Articles You May Like

Easter Eggs Featured In James Gunn’s DC Studios Film
The Ruminators Guest On “If These Walls Could Talk” With Hosts Wendy Stuart and Tym Moss Wednesday, December 25th, 2024
Joe Pesci Bit Macaulay Culkin’s Finger, Daniel Stern Says
The Masked Singer Season 12 Finale Recap: Who Wins?
King Charles’s Cancer Treatment Continues, But It’s “Moving in a Positive Direction”