Today, communities around the world are observing Transgender Day of Rememberance, honoring the memories of the 30 people killed in the last year simply for trying to live their lives in ways that honestly represented themselves as who they were. The link above lists local events, including Shabbat services in Michigan and San Francisco tomorrow night, an interfaith vigil in Boston tonight co-sponsored by Keshet, and a couple of other explicitly interfaith vigils that don’t list explicitly Jewish organizers but would most certainly be excellent places for Jews to show up.
As important as moments of silence and reflection are in honoring those who have been martyred, it’s equally important to give voice to their stories and to the stories of those who are living lives in the face of a world that doesn’t understand. Along those lines, S. Isaac Dowd has written a beautiful reflection on the day, from the perspective of a transgender Jew over at JVoices.