#gwendolyn ann smith

Today marks Transgender Day of Remembrance, designated to honor transgender and gender non-conforming people who have been lost to anti-LGBTQ violence. ❤️ 

The honorary day was created by trans advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith in 1999 after Rita Hester, a transgender woman, was murdered in 1998. 

At least 22 transgender and gender non-conforming people ― the overwhelming majority of whom are Black transgender women ― have been killed in the U.S. in 2019 according to the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBTQ advocacy group. 

Today we share their names and honor them. Learn their stories here.