Transgender Day of Remembrance

Floor Speech

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Ms. PRESSLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in remembrance of Rita Hester, a Black transgender woman killed in the Massachusetts Seventh District, for whom Transgender Day of Remembrance was established in 1999.

I rise today because, 20 years later, many more lives continue to be stolen. This year, we have been robbed of at least 22 transgender people because of hate, fear, and vitriol--22 souls, the majority of whom are Black transgender women; 22 people whose families, friends, and partners are forever marred by grief; 22 experiences of secondhand trauma for transgender people everywhere.

Among them we remember: Dana Martin, Jazzaline Ware, Ashanti Carmon, Claire Legato, Muhlaysia Booker, Michelle ``Tamika'' Washington, Paris Cameron, Chynal Lindsey, Chanel Scurlock, Zoe Spears, Brooklyn Lindsey, Denali Berries Stuckey, Tracy Single, Bubba Walker, Kiki Fantroy, Jordan Cofer, Pebbles LaDime ``Dime'' Doe, Bailey Reeves, Bee Love Slater, Jamagio Jamar Berryman, Itali Marlowe, and Brianna ``BB'' Hill.

May they rest in peace and power.

Today, we remember still others not included on this list because their missing persons reports remain uninvestigated or because they are misgendered and deadnamed after their death because the people closest to them refused to recognize their truths.

We remember those who die from preventable illnesses, poverty, and violence as a result of discrimination in healthcare, employment, education, and housing.

We remember transgender women Johana Medina and Layleen Polanco, victims of an unjust and cruel immigration and criminal legal system.

Mr. Speaker, colleagues, the transgender community deserves to be seen safe and celebrated. However, due to this administration's policies that continue to neglect, unfairly target, and commit violence against them, this is not the case.

However, so as not to define the transgender community only by their trauma, today, I also rise to lift the talents and strengths of this community.

I honor you, my transgender friends, for your bravery to honor your truths, for intentionally creating a beautiful and rich community, and for being role models as leaders of social change.

I stand before you committed to listening to your needs, to recognizing and centering transgender lives, not just today but every day, and to being your partner in ending this devastating crisis.

Last week, I introduced the People's Justice Guarantee, a resolution that reaffirms our collective right to live free from injustice. I rise today resolved in the fight to ensure our rights to dignity, liberation, and justice--justice for transgender people, justice for all in America.

Mr. Speaker, it is now my pleasure to yield to the gentleman from the great State of California (Mr. Takano).

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Ms. PRESSLEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for those powerful words. Like the gentleman, I agree that we cannot say those names enough.

Mr. Speaker, it is now my pleasure to yield to the gentleman from the great State of Missouri (Mr. Cleaver).

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Ms. PRESSLEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for those words and for telling us more about those we were prematurely robbed of all that they had to contribute to this world. It is important that we continue to bring their names into this well, into this august institution, so that we are compelled to continue to do this work, understanding that this is--behind every number--this is not about statistics. These are about people, people of flesh and bone who loved and were loved.

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding to me and for leading in this Special Order hour.

Mr. Speaker, I stand here tonight to remind my colleagues and the world that our transgender community needs us.

Bigotry, hate, and violence against transgender people has reached a level that requires a whole day devoted to simply remembering everyone who has lost his or her life. This year alone, over 300 have been murdered.

That is to say nothing of the transgender people who were bullied or harassed to the point of taking their own lives just simply for accepting every part of themselves.

There is no doubt in my mind that an administration that has endorsed hate at every turn and outright exclusion of our transgender friends and family is part of the problem. Our actions in this body need to be part of the solution.

I am proud to be a part of the Equality Caucus Transgender Equality Task Force, and I am determined to see us continue to take real steps that will protect the rights and the freedoms of all people.

As a founding chair of the Congressional Caucus on Black Women and Girls, I am committed to recognizing the value and need of our transgender sisters.

As the chair of the CBC's Emergency Task Force on Black Youth Suicide and Mental Health, I am actively working to ensure transgender youth receive the support and the care and the love to overcome the hate of our society.

This is a community in dire need, and I join my colleagues and so many others in stepping up and speaking out.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for the opportunity to speak.

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Ms. PRESSLEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her leadership and for always fighting for those too often ignored, left out, and left behind. We are grateful for her.

Now, just as I close, as we wrap this Special Order hour, Transgender Day of Remembrance is about remembering lives we have lost too soon, but it should also be about remembering the bravery of transgender people everywhere. I rise again to acknowledge the contributions, often overlooked, of transgender women of color who have been champions of social change.

It was transgender advocates in my district who established the first Transgender Day of Remembrance in 1999 in honor of Rita Hester, a Black transgender woman described as vivacious, outgoing, and loved by many people.

On this day, I rise to remember the transgender women of color who were catalysts for the LGBT rights movement in the United States and around the world. We remember the bravery of Miss Major Griffin-Gracy and the late Sylvia Rivera, and Marsha P. Johnson in the face of the police who violently raided the Stonewall Inn in New York City in 1969, detaining and arresting people simply for being themselves.

When faced with compounded transphobia, racism, sexism, and homophobia, transgender people have marched and resisted. When confronted with structural barriers, transgender people have organized and advocated.

I remain committed, along with the dedicated members of my team--and I want to issue a special thanks to Jenny Curt for her contributions to today's Special Order hour--committed not only to lifting the stories of those lives lost, but to working in partnership, legislating boldly. I see their power; I honor their activism.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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