Community members gathered at Corona Plaza in Queens on November 19 in one of multiple Transgender Day of Remembrance vigils held across the city.
Transgender Day of Remembrance, which is observed annually on November 20, coincided this year with an attack on an LGBTQ nightclub late in the evening on November 19 in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Just hours before the mass shooting took place in Colorado Springs, folks gathered in Queens for an emotional vigil to remember lost loved ones whose pictures were on display alongside candles. The vigil featured names and pictures of individuals such as Melissa Nuñez, a trans activist who was killed in Honduras after she was deported from the United States, and Maya Allen, a Black trans woman who was murdered in Milwaukee earlier this year.
The vigil was led by Make the Road New York, which asked folks on an event flyer to “celebrate the life and resistance of trans communities, as well as honor the trans siblings who are no longer with us.”
The colors of the Transgender Flag were visible throughout the vigil, and flags featured messages such as “All we need is love.”
At least 32 transgender, gender non-conforming, or non-binary individuals have been killed so far this year in the United States, according to the Human Rights Campaign, which tracks fatal violence targeting transgender individuals in the United States.
