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TRANSGENDER DAY OF REMEMBRANCE
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 4, 2021, the Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Illinois
(Ms. Newman) for 30 minutes.
General Leave
Ms. NEWMAN. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the subject of my Special Order.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentlewoman from Illinois?
There was no objection.
Ms. NEWMAN. Madam Speaker, I rise today on behalf of the transgender Americans who must fight every day for their right to live as their authentic selves.
This Saturday, November 20, marks Transgender Day of Remembrance, a day to honor the memory of the transgender and nonbinary people whose lives were lost this year in acts of violence.
Tomorrow, I am proudly joining my colleagues and fellow Transgender Equality Task Force co-chairs, Representatives Pramila Jayapal and Jennifer Wexton, to formally introduce a resolution to nationally commemorate this very somber annual observance.
At least 375 transgender or nonbinary individuals across the globe have been killed this year--375. In our Nation alone, it breaks my heart to say that, so far this year, the Human Rights Campaign has reported at least 46 transgender or gender nonconforming people were killed by violent means. We say ``at least'' because we believe this number is actually much higher due to the unfortunate prevalence of underreporting or misreporting violence against this community.
They were friends, family, loved ones, parents. They were taken far too soon. We must honor their memory with a commitment to fight anti-
trans hate and violence anywhere it exists.
It is with this commitment that I now read the names of each of these Americans into the Congressional Record. May their memory serve as a call to action for all of us:
Tyianna Alexander
Samuel Edmund Damian Valentin
Bianca ``Muffin'' Bankz
Dominique Jackson
Fifty Bandz
Alexus Braxton
Chyna Carrillo
Jeffrey ``JJ'' Bright
Jasmine Cannady
Jenna Franks
Diamond Kyree Sanders
Rayanna Pardo
Jaida Peterson
Dominique Lucious
Remy Fennel
Tiara Banks
Natalia Smut
Iris Santos
Tiffany Thomas
Keri Washington
Jahaira DeAlto
Whispering Wind Bear Spirit
Sophie Vasquez
Danika ``Danny'' Henson
Serenity Hollis
Oliver ``Ollie'' Taylor
Thomas Hardin
Poe Black
EJ Boykin
Aidelen Evans
Taya Ashton
Shai Vanderpump
Tierramarie Lewis
Miss CoCo
Pooh Johnson
Disaya Monaee
Briana Hamilton
Kier Lapri Kartier
Mel Groves
Royal Poetical Starz
Zoella ``Zoey'' Rose Martinez
Jo Acker
Jessi Hart
Rikkey Outumuro
Marquiisha Lawrence
Jenny De Leon
Madam Speaker, may we honor their memory today and every day.
Madam Speaker, I yield to my colleague from the great State of Rhode Island (Mr. Cicilline), the chair of the congressional LGBTQ-Plus Equality Caucus.
Mr. CICILLINE. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding, for leading us in this Special Order hour, and for saying out loud the names of the individuals who we have lost.
I am proud today to rise in recognition of Transgender Day of Remembrance, which we will mark this Saturday, November 20, and in remembrance of the transgender and gender nonconforming people whose lives were taken this year.
Madam Speaker, 52 years ago, in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, New York City Police raided the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in Greenwich Village. It had become a refuge and a well-known gathering place for LGBTQI-plus individuals.
This was the third such raid on Greenwich Village bars in a short period of time. Tired of harassment and blatant discrimination, patrons began clashing with law enforcement outside the Stonewall Inn on Christopher Street.
This was not the first time LGBTQI-plus people fought back, but these clashes sparked an uprising that would unfold over the next 6 days and fundamentally change LGBTQI-plus activism in the United States and around the world.
At the forefront of this uprising were transgender and gender nonconforming people like Marsha P. Johnson, the P standing for ``pay it no mind,'' a common response Marsha would say to questions about her gender.
Too often, transgender individuals are left out of the story of the LGBTQ-plus rights movement, especially transgender women of color like Marsha, as well as Sylvia Rivera and Miss Major Griffin-Gracy.
These three icons and so many other activists like them were and continue to be the backbone of the LGBTQ-plus civil rights movement. Miss Major, currently in her eighties, continues to fight against the disproportionate incarceration rates of transgender people.
Tragically, so far this year, at least 46 transgender or gender nonconforming people have been fatally shot or killed by other violent means in our own country. 2021 marks an alarming milestone for the transgender community: the deadliest year on record for transgender and gender nonconforming people. Let me say it again: the deadliest year on record for trans and gender nonconforming people.
This epidemic of violence particularly affects transgender women of color, specifically Black and Latinx transgender women, who make up more than three-quarters of the recorded 46 violent deaths this year. These deaths are horrific, and we must act to end this violence.
The right to live freely without fear of persecution or discrimination is one that every person needs and deserves. The Equality Act adds sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes through existing civil rights law, ensuring that the transgender community would have the same protections as everyone else. I am so proud that we have passed that out of the House, and it is awaiting action from the Senate.
The 2021 Transgender Day of Remembrance House resolution, of which I am a proud cosponsor, commemorates November 20, 2021, as a day of remembrance and memorializes the lives lost at the hands of anti-
transgender violence in the United States and around the world. I urge all of my colleagues to support this resolution.
Now is the time to show solidarity with the trans community. They have done the work to bring injustice wrought against the LGBTQI-plus community to light. They bear the brunt of violence, abuse, and even death. It cannot continue. We must not let it continue.
Madam Speaker, as we remember the names of the transgender individuals who gave their lives for this cause, we honor their legacy by continuing the fight to ensure that all people, regardless of gender and gender identity, are treated equally and justly in this country.
Madam Speaker, the forces working against progress are strong, but we are stronger. I thank Congresswoman Newman for being one of the co-
chairs of the Transgender Equality Task Force of the Equality Caucus, for the good work in developing this resolution, and for leading this Special Order hour tonight.
Ms. NEWMAN. Madam Speaker, I thank Congressman Cicilline, who is an amazing champion for the Equality Act and all things LGBTQI. I couldn't be more pleased to be his colleague.
Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Takano), a co-chair of the Congressional LGBTQ-plus Equality Caucus and the chairman of the House Veterans Affairs' Committee, where he champions legislation to serve our LGBTQ-plus veterans.
Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Newman for yielding. It is a great honor to be here today under such somber circumstances.
Madam Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Transgender Day of Remembrance and Transgender Awareness Week. It is with a heavy heart that I recognize that this has been the deadliest year on record for our transgender sisters, brothers, and siblings. I want to share with you the names of three individuals that we lost in my home State of California. I grieve with the families, loved ones, and communities that lost these young people far too early for no reason other than hate.
Rayanna Pardo, age 26, was a beloved daughter and sister living in East Los Angeles who left behind a family and community that loved her deeply. She was lost in March of this year.
Natalia Smut, age 24, was a celebrated drag artist from Milpitas, California. She gave captivating performances and had a courageous and creative spirit, and she was described by those who knew her as a jewel in her community. She was lost in April.
Poe Black, also known as Oliver Jackson and Legion, was an indigenous, trans-masculine and two-spirit activist and artist. He was a tireless advocate who used his social media platform to support various social justice causes, including by documenting his transition to educate and inspire his followers. He was lost in May.
Each of these young people leaves behind a network of family, friends, and community upon which they have made an indelible impression. I join their communities in honoring their light and legacy and share in the grief that they were taken from the people who loved them.
It is in remembrance of these three individuals that I say this: Transgender Week of Awareness cannot only be about awareness. It also must be about action.
We cannot pretend that the rhetoric heard here in this Chamber and in statehouses across the country does not have a direct impact on the lives of transgender people. This year, we have seen the introduction of over 100 anti-trans bills in State legislatures, whipping up a moral panic around the identities of adults and targeting children.
The dehumanizing debates over whether an individual should have control over their own body, whether they should be allowed to compete on the athletic field, whether they even exist, these arguments all connect directly to the types of attacks that killed Rayanna, Natalia, Poe Black, and so many more.
It is not enough to only recognize the devastating statistics. We must also make policy decisions that recognize transgender people for who they are.
Who are they? They are loved ones, community members, family members, individuals who add depth and richness to our society and are defined by far more than statistics, hatred, or bigotry.
So this Transgender Remembrance Day, remember those who were lost by making noise. Raise your voice against the persistent and dangerous misinformation about transgender identity. Raise your voice in celebration of loved ones, friends, family, and community members who are transgender.
Raise your voice to support the next generation of transgender and nonbinary young people so that they may recognize the great beauty and joy in their identity rather than living in fear or shame.
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Now, we cannot bring those who have been lost back to their loved ones, but we can play a role in ensuring that other friends, families, and communities do not have to suffer a loss like Rayanna's, Natalia's and Poe Black's communities did. So I call on my colleagues this year to turn awareness into action because making policy that centers on safety, equity, and prosperity for transgender people should not be an effort that lasts only a week, but it should be all year round and throughout the rest of our lives.
Madam Speaker, I thank my friend for yielding.
Ms. NEWMAN. Madam Speaker, I thank Congressman Takano for all his advocacy and leadership.
Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from the great Commonwealth of Massachusetts (Ms. Pressley), who is a champion of LGBTQ-plus rights and whose intersectional approach is simply inspirational.
Ms. PRESSLEY. Madam Speaker, I rise in recognition of Transgender Day of Remembrance.
In 1999, Rita Hester, a transgender woman, was murdered in Allston, a neighborhood in my district, the Massachusetts Seventh. In response to this horrific tragedy, this day was created to memorialize the loss of her life and far too many others due to transphobic violence.
The cruelty of transphobia is a threat that we must confront and root out wherever it exists. Whether in music or on television or in the hallowed Halls of the Nation's Capitol, there is no place for hatred because someone is brave enough to show up exactly as they are and to live their truth.
Yet in 2021, we have seen at least 46 transgender or gender nonconforming people killed. We have been robbed of at least 46 souls, disproportionately Black and Latinx transwomen, and these are only the ones who have been properly reported.
On the floor of Congress, we speak their names:
Tyianna Alexander
Samuel Edmund Damian Valentin
Bianca ``Muffin'' Bankz
Dominique Jackson
Fifty Bandz
Alexus Braxton
Chyna Carrillo
Jeffrey ``JJ'' Bright
Jasmine Cannady
Jenna Franks
Diamond Kyree Sanders
Rayanna Pardo
Jaida Peterson
Dominique Luscious
Remy Fennell
Tiara Banks
Natalia Smut
Iris Santos
Tiffany Thomas
Keri Washington
Whispering Wind Bear Spirit
Sophie Vasquez
Danika ``Danny'' Henson
Serenity Hollis
Oliver ``Ollie'' Taylor
Thomas Hardin
Poe Black
EJ Boykin
Aidelen Evans
Taya Ashton
Shai Vanderpump
Tierramarie Lewis
Miss CoCo
Pooh Johnson
Disaya Monaee
Briana Hamilton
Kier Lapri Kartier
Mel Groves
Royal Poetical Starz
Zoella ``Zoey'' Rose Martinez
Jo Acker
Jessi Hart
Rikkey Outumuro
Marquiisha Lawrence
Jenny De Leon
And Jahaira DeAlto who was murdered in my district.
Jahaira, a friend, a mother, and an activist spoke out 22 years ago when Rita Hester was killed. As a survivor of domestic violence, she advocated for gender affirming shelters and, with kindness in her heart, opened her home to queer and trans people with nowhere to go.
Jahaira DeAlto's compassion will forever be her legacy, alongside her legendary status in the ballroom community for serving ``everyday realness.''
While we grieve the loss of loved ones, neighbors, and colleagues, we must also hold space to celebrate their lives and the differences they make in ours.
Transgender people are community organizers, military soldiers, and justice seekers who have put their bodies on the line domestically and abroad to fight for a safe and equitable society. They are artists, healers, and entertainers who nurture our soul and spread joy wherever they go. Most importantly, transgender people are beacons of hope and pillars of courage serving as living testaments of what it means to be unapologetically you.
While transphobia seeks to erase these truths, we must affirm the dignity of every member of the trans community.
So I rise today to remember Transgender Day of Remembrance and recommit myself to the work of justice and equity for all people, including my transgender siblings in the movement for liberation. Our destinies are tied.
Ms. NEWMAN. Madam Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Pressley for all her great work.
Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from the great State of California (Ms. Jacobs), who is a proud sister to a trans brother and gender nonconforming sibling.
Ms. JACOBS of California. Madam Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Newman for yielding and thanks to the Equality Caucus for organizing this Special Order.
As the gentlewoman mentioned, I am the proud sister of a trans brother and a gender nonconforming sibling. I am also the proud Representative of Hillcrest, the heart of San Diego's LGBTQ-plus community, so this issue is deeply personal to me and to the people whom I love.
Every time that we hear about another trans person being murdered, I think about my siblings and my constituents, and my heart breaks because this epidemic of violence has gone on for too long.
For too long, trans voices have been silenced, ignored, and disrespected. Whether they are trying to access healthcare, trying to find housing, or even when they are just trying to go about their daily lives, our trans neighbors and friends face discrimination, harassment, and a pervasive lack of resources.
Even in this body, we have colleagues actively working to prevent equality for the trans community who continue to misgender and dehumanize our trans friends and family and continue denying them the support they need and are trying to keep them on the margins of our society.
This rhetoric and this anti-trans legislation making its way through the country has real-world consequences. With the recent news of the killing of Marquiisha Lawrence in South Carolina, 2021 just became the deadliest year on record for trans and nonbinary people. This year alone at least 45 trans people have been killed.
It is, at least, because all too often when trans people are killed, the details of their lives are misreported. They are misgendered or deadnamed in police reports and death certificates. So not only are their lives being taken from them, their authentic identity--who they really were and fought so hard to be--is also being erased. So we must continue to say the names of people like Poe Black and Natalia Smut who were killed this year in California.
Their lives are a reminder that we must continue to fight for trans equality especially for transwomen of color.
As important as it is for us to celebrate the lives of the trans people who were taken from us, we also need to celebrate trans people when they are still alive. So this Transgender Awareness Week, let us commit to uplifting trans people when they are still here not only after they are gone.
I honor the strength and resilience of the trans community. I will continue to make their voices heard in the Halls of Congress, and I will continue to advocate for the support that they have been denied for far too long.
I want any young person who is watching this to know that they are perfect, they are loved, and they are needed in this world exactly the way they are, and I will be here every day fighting for them.
Ms. NEWMAN. Madam Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Jacobs for her kind remarks.
I have one more speaker, Madam Speaker. We have Representative Al Green, who is an LGBTQ ally.
Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Green).
Mr. GREEN of Texas. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.
And still I rise, Madam Speaker, as a proud ally of the transgender community. And I rise tonight with a special message. This message means a lot to me because I truly believe that the pledge is correct. We pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God with liberty and justice for all.
All cannot exclude the trans community. All has to include the trans babies and the children in Texas who are having to suffer through debates about what they can do athletically. All has to include people who lose their lives simply because they are being who they are.
I rise with a message of I am with you, I am your ally, and I live today to live to see the day that transwomen will not have to live in fear of dying because of who they are and trans children can grow up and simply be children in this country where we pledge liberty and justice for all.
Ms. NEWMAN. Madam Speaker, I thank Congressman Green. He is absolutely right. All is all and love is love.
That concludes our Special Order hour. I want to thank each of my colleagues this evening for their participation.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
____________________
SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 200
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