Transgender Day of Remembrance

This post includes graphic content related to violence, murder, and transphobia. Reader discretion is advised.

The first Transgender Day of Remembrance over 20 years ago was to honor the life Rita Hester, a trans woman whose 1998 murder still has yet to be solved. Each year since then, on November 20^th, trans lives lost to violence in the previous calendar year are honored and remembered. This day is observed by many nationally and even internationally, but it is also meaningful to our community right here in Arlington.

Just in the past five months, Arlington has mourned the loss of two beautiful trans lives. Kier Lapri Kartier, was only 21 years old when she was shot in her car and later died at a local hospital according to police reports. Kartier was honored by her friends and family with a balloon release. She was described as a “ball of joy”. Her best friend, DayVion Haggerty, told local news media that “everybody just loved who she was,” including family members, who embraced her identity as a trans woman. (source: them.us/story/kier-lapri-kartier-black-trans-woman-5th-trans-person-killed-texas-2021)

Anyone with information related to her murder is encouraged to call Det. Spencer of the Arlington Police Department at (817) 459-6466.

You can learn more about Kier Lapri Kartier here: https://tdor.translivesmatter.info/reports/2021/09/30/kier-lapri-kartier_arlington-texas-usa_e83abeff

#SayHerName

(Photo credit: Stacey Monroe and shared by Nu Trans Movement on Facebook)

Rubi Dominguez was senselessly murdered this summer when an unknown person hit her with their car and then left the scene. Unfortunately, in many articles about her murder and her obituary Dominguez is misgendered and deadnamed, a common hardship faced by trans and non-binary people. Investigators believe the car that hit her was orange with four-doors, possibly a Mitsubishi Mirage. If you have any knowledge of a car matching this description with damage to the front right side during July 2021, please contact Crash Investigator S. Bridges at 817-575-8602 or Sgt. J. Brown at 817-575-8815. If you wish to remain anonymous, please call Crime Stoppers of Tarrant County at 817-469-8477 (TIPS). Please reference Arlington Police Department report #2021-01970061.

You can learn more about Rubi Dominguez here: https://tdor.translivesmatter.info/reports/2021/07/16/rubi-dominguez_arlington-texas-usa_5416f6e3

#SayHerName

Awareness is great, but actions are better. This Trans Remembrance Day, I challenge you to take action to support the LGBTQ people in your life. One simple way we can all be actively supportive is to display our pronouns on email signatures and nametags.  The UTA Libraries is providing pronoun flags that attach to our nametags to all Libraries Staff. For other ideas of how you can make your workplace or classroom more welcoming for your trans friends and colleagues visit these websites:

https://www.glaad.org/transgender/allies

https://hbr.org/2020/03/creating-a-trans-inclusive-workplace

Remember these women from our community and show kindness to everyone, but especially those who have been marginalized.