The organization also notes 76 percent of transgender victims were people of color and 52 percent were Black transgender women.
Wednesday’s ceremony will include a reading of the deceased names and a lighting of a candle in their memory.
“We simply want to honor those people we have lost to transgender bigotry or violence,” said Randy Phillips, chairperson of Transgender Day of Remembrance Dayton. “So many of these brave individuals have gone largely unaccepted by their own families. In this political world we live in, so many become disenfranchised really quickly.
“So, it’s all together proper that we honor these individuals in a way that perhaps they weren’t honored in life. It’s important for us to learn more about the plight transgender people face as well as be encouraged and challenged to do better,” Phillips said.
This year’s keynote speaker is Laith Ashley, a singer/songwriter, dancer, model, actor, and activist. Born female, Ashley came out as a transgender man in 2013. In 2017 he was the first transgender man to be featured in a Diesel campaign, and in February 2020, became one of the faces of the Abercrombie FIERCE campaign. He was also cast on the reality TV series “Strut”, executive produced by Whoopi Goldberg in 2016, appeared on Season 1 of “Pose” on FX, and was memorable as Taylor Swift’s love interest in her 2023 music video for “Lavender Haze.”
“The world is so vast, it’s so diverse — why would anyone want to be the same as someone else?,” Ashley told Men’s Health in 2023. “We should be able to participate in society, feel welcomed, and live day to day without fear. To be able to share moments with your family — whether that’s biological or chosen—and continue to learn and grow. You should have a full view of the world and the types of people in it so that everyone feels seen and noticed.”
Gage Gatlyn, a Transgender Day of Remembrance Dayton planning committee member and founder of local transgender support group the Gatlyn Dame Group, is excited to have Ashley in attendance.
“He’s a trans advocate and activist who is very out and open in his career,” Gatlyn said. “He’s shown people that you can succeed as a trans person in Hollywood and within the entertainment industry. It’s important for people to understand trans people are making history every single day. Laith Ashley is someone who can make people realize trans people are human and doing important things.”
Credit: FACEBOOK/JOSH FOGEL
Credit: FACEBOOK/JOSH FOGEL
Additional speakers include: Kris Goins, an advocate/activist and founder of Black Transmen Of Ohio, who is also a help desk technician for Speedway Inc.; Christyn Rey Brewer, an activist and musician from Dayton, who is a Wright State alum and supervisor of HUD’s Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program with Homefull; and Judas Serafin Faye Faust, a queer artist and current theatre tech student at Sinclair.
In addition Transgender Day of Remembrance Dayton is a 501(c)(3) organization, allowing for more financial and structural sustainability while advancing its mission.
“As this event has grown, it only made sense that we step it up to allow it to be its own non-profit rather than necessarily under the fiducial umbrella of another organization,” Phillips said. “It propels our mission to educate the community about transgender needs and the plight of transgender and non-confirming individuals. Our challenge is to always educate and bring more awareness at all times. We want to move the conversation of equality forward.”
HOW TO GO
What: Transgender Day of Remembrance
When: 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 20
Where: Building 12 of Sinclair Community College, 444 W. Third St., Dayton
Cost: Free
Tickets/more info: tdordayton.org
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