The San Quentin community gathered in Chapel A in recognition of the rehabilitation center’s second annual observance of the Transgender Day of Remembrance.
The purpose of the event was to bring awareness to deaths caused by transphobic violence.
San Quentin resident Michael Adams opened with a rendition of “Lean on Me” by Bill Withers. The song sparked the emotions the of transgender women present, who locked arms and sang to each other and the crowd.
“We come together today as a community, and whether you’re queer or not, we are all human,” said San Quentin resident and event host Cassandra Evans. “We remember [those] lost, to how that transgender lives matter said Evans.”
Attendees joined in clapping and singing together, “we all need somebody to lean on.”
Evans welcomed two condemned residents, the last transgender women on Death Row at San Quentin. One took to the stage and shared her story.
“When I was 13 my dad caught me dressed up like a girl on my birthday,” she recounted, describing the sexual violence she suffered at his hands. “He told me if I was going to act like a b***h, then he was going to treat me like one.”
She spoke about the daily difficulties transgender people face, including social stigmatization.
“What I want to say is we are [good] enough,” she stated. “We are who we are, we are all women, we have difficulties, but we can overcome everything.”
Resident Angie Gordon was invited to speak about transphobia, which she defined as a belief that the sex of a person assigned at birth is absolute and cannot change throughout a person’s lifetime.
She stated this type of thinking is a root cause of transphobic ideology, which generates a negative attitude or opinion about people in the transgender community.
Gordon reminded the audience that transgender people are subjected to many kinds of violence, including domestic abuse, sexual assault, and murder. She added that transphobic hatred has more recently been emboldened in American society.
Evans then asked the San Quentin transgender community to join her on the Chapel’s stage to be “seen and heard.” She stated that it was important to show unity and gain community familiarity.
In the background, photographs, names, age, and manner of death, were displayed on large TV screens visible to attendees, of Trans- women killed by transphobic violence or suicide.
The event featured six memoirs of transgender women. The list included Kitty Monroe, Shannon, Boswell, Banko Brown, Michelle Henery, Yella Clark, and Carmen Guerro. In addition to their stories, over 140 deaths were recognized and remembered through the course of the November 20 event.
The Day of Remembrance reached its musical peak when San Quentin Rehabilitation Center nurse and America’s Got Talent finalist Dee Dee Simon sang Prince’s “Purple Rain.” The audience stood, clapped, and sang along in solidarity with the transgender community.
San Quentin Warden Chance Andes also showed his support, noting that he was happy the event took place.
“I’m glad to see that everybody in the community can get together and represent themselves, this is a good example of equality,” said Andes.
Gwendolyn Ann Smith created the “Remembering Our Dead Project” in 1998, in response to the murder of Rita Hester, a Black transgender woman killed in her Massachusetts apartment that year.
Smith’s goal was to help her community learn more about their history, memorialize Tran’s lives, and bring awareness to the violence that surrounds them, the host stated.
“Smith not only brought awareness to Hester’s brutal death, but also publicized how other transgender lives were lost due to transphobic violence,” Evans said.
“There will always be challenges when we try to become that beautiful flower that we have always wanted to be,” said Evans. “Always remember your voices and your lives matter too, keep being you.”
