More than 100 transgender community members and allies, including Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and US Representative Ayanna Pressley, gathered at a ceremony and vigil Saturday at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston to mark the 25th anniversary of Transgender Day of Remembrance.

Transgender Day of Remembrance is officially observed each year on November 20, but events are held around the date worldwide.

Reports the Boston Globe:

Dozens of small candles flickered in cupped hands under the dimmed lights of the Cathedral Church of St. Paul on Saturday night, as the names of 319 transgender and gender-nonconforming people who died over the past year were read aloud.

The annual Transgender Day of Remembrance, officially observed Nov. 20, traces its roots to the unsolved 1998 murder of Allston resident Rita Hester, a 34-year-old Black trans woman, and has grown into an international day honoring members of the trans community lost to homicide or suicide.

Now in its 25th year, the annual memorial began in 1999 in Boston and San Francisco, and it continues to be cherished by Rita’s family. Her nephew, Taufiqul Chowdhury, said at the church that he was moved by the turnout of more than 100 members of the trans community and allies.

“It’s beautiful,” Chowdhury said. “Her death meant so much to us, but to see it mean more to other people and the other trans lives that have been lost . . . it just means the world.”

In past years, the names of the dead were read by members of the trans community. This year, organizers asked a group of “trusted allies” to the community to read the names.

“The heaviness of the names, we didn’t want that to lie on the shoulders of trans folks,” said Mason Dunn, who helped organize and host the event.

This year’s observance falls amid a historic onslaught of attacks on transgender Americans by figures on the political right, and speakers at the ceremony called on the community to not only remember the dead but also join in solidarity in the fight for equal rights. Organizers also wanted to have fun, they said, and celebrate the joy in the trans community.

The observance was meant “not only to celebrate the lives that have been taken from us, but also to celebrate those that are with us,” said Chastity Bowick, lead organizer.

The recent election of Donald Trump to a second term in the White House hung heavy over the ceremony, as the former president made anti-transgender themes a central part of his campaign. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, who was in attendance with US Representative Ayanna Pressley, said they will fight to ensure everyone is welcome in Boston.

Read the complete Boston Globe story here.

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