Transgender Day Of Remembrance 2025: Honoring The Lives We Lost
The names we speak today reflect both profound loss and the resilience of a community that refuses silence.
Featured image by Antonio Cascio via Getty Images
Every November 20, we gather to remember our trans siblings whose lives were cut short due to violence. This year, the grief feels especially heavy. The climate for trans people in the United States has become harsher, with political leaders spreading misinformation, slashing protections, and feeding a culture of hostility.
TDOR began in 1999 in Boston after the killings of Rita Hester and Chanelle Pickett. Their deaths exposed what many already knew. Trans lives were not taken seriously by police, nor by the media, nor by the systems meant to protect the public. That first vigil, lit by candlelight on a cold sidewalk, created a tradition that has carried forward across decades.
58 trans and gender expansive people were lost across the last twelve months, according to Advocates for Trans Equality (A4TE). Within that number are multiple forms of violence. There were 27 deaths caused by direct interpersonal violence. Seventeen of those involved guns. The other major share of this year’s losses came from suicide, much of it among youth.
Black trans women remain at the highest risk. Out of 17 Black trans people who were killed by interpersonal violence this year, all but two were shot. Intimate partner violence also left a deep mark. Trans people are 1.7 times more likely to experience all forms of intimate partner violence, and nearly a third of the trans women lost to interpersonal violence this year died at the hands of partners.
Mental health crises, especially among youth, formed another devastating portion of this year’s violence. Sixty-one percent of those lost to suicide were between the ages of 15 and 24. The Trevor Project’s latest study warns that trans and gender nonconforming youth face alarming rates of harassment and discrimination, factors closely tied to suicidal thoughts. Young people are absorbing the same hateful rhetoric that is shaping laws and school policies.
Behind these losses is a harsh political context. More than thirty bills in Congress this year sought to ban gender affirming care. State legislatures continued to target trans participation in public life, from restrooms to libraries to sports. Federal health data about trans communities has been removed or censored, further erasing the experiences of people who already face disproportionate harm.
“This report is not just a record of loss—it is a call to action. Every name represents a life that mattered. They were artists, dancers, writers, computer scientists, students, parents, friends, and much more. The work to end anti-trans violence begins with honoring the truth: that trans people deserve to be seen in their full humanity and live long, safe, and authentic lives,” said Bahari Thomas, Director of Public Education at A4TE.
Today, as candles are lit across the country, we hold space for every trans person who should still be here. We hold their names with tenderness and with resolve. We honor their courage, their humor, their creativity, their dreams. And we commit again to a future where remembrance is no longer a matter of necessity but an act of history.
Below is the list of those we remember this year, including those lost due to natural causes. Head here to learn more about them.
Kaitoria Bankz, 31
Aziza “Z” Barnes, 31
Katelyn Rinnetta Benoit, 15
Jill Heathers Bouvier, 54
Tahiry Broom, 29
Bianca “Jiggly Caliente” Castro-Arabejo, 44
Phoenix Cassetta
Onyx Cornish, 18
Deniz Chucker
Aubrey Dameron, 25
Amyri Dior, 23
Shy’Parius Dupree, 32
Kelsey Elem, 25
Jay Floris, 23
Charlotte Fosgate, 17
Arty Cassidy Beowulf Gibson, 23
JJ Godbey, 26
Jax Gratton, 34
Lily Dawn Harkins, 22
Christina Hayes, 28
Sonny Hopkins, 39
Norah Horwitz, 38
Tiara Love “Tori” Jackson, 37
Lady Java, 82
Leah Jo, 37
Dream Johnson, 28
Ervianna Johnson, 25
Tessa June, 21
Michele Kaemmerer, 80
Megan Jordan Kridli, 22
Rosa Machuca, 24
Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, 78
Roy Mora, 15
Linda Becerra Moran, 30
Apollo Moon, 26
Rick Alastor Newman, 29
Gabrielle “Cam” Nguyen, 21
Sam Nordquist, 24
Sydney “Syd” Leigh Phillips, 22
Kasi Rhea, 31
Luisa Rivera, 68
Parker Savarese, 15
Blair Sawyer, 27
Laura Schueler, 47
Meka Shabazz, 46
Quanesha “Cocoa” Shantel, 26
Elisa Rae Shupe, 61
Emma Slabach, 24
Lia Smith, 21
Eli Stablein, 49
Raven Syed
Cam Thompson, 18
Ajani Walden
Kyla Jane Walker, 39
Zara Weinberg, 36
Karmin Wells, 25
Kamora Woods, 27
Ra’lasia Wright, 25
Hope Lyca Youngblood, 49
