This TDOR, the Astraea Foundation is excited to collaborate with freelance artist and designer, Emulsify. To learn more about their work, please visit @emulsify.art on Instagram.

 “Our task is to move from sympathy to responsibility, from complicity to reflexivity, from witnessing to action. It is not enough to simply honor the memory of the dead—we must transform the practices of the living.”

— Lamble, 2008: Retelling racialized violence, remaking white innocence: The politics of interlocking oppressions in Transgender Day of Remembrance.

Today we make space for the remembrance of trans and nonbinary people who have been lost to anti-trans violence, we honor the resilience of trans communities, and we remain steadfast in our resistance to anti-trans violence and ideology.

Trans Day of Remembrance began as an opportunity for healing for the trans community, and it has succeeded in bringing the epidemic of violence against Black trans women to widespread public attention. According to the Trans Murder Monitoring research project, which tracks anti-trans violence globally, at least 320 trans and gender diverse people have been lost to violence across the world in 2023. 94% of those reported murdered were trans women and trans feminine people, and 80% were trans people affected by racism – Black, brown, Indigenous, and people of color. We recognize that this number is likely higher, as violence against the trans community is underreported, misreported, and ignored.

The Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice honors our trans communities and the rich diversity of trans identities. The intersectional feminist values which inform the Astraea Foundation’s work today owe much to the scholarship, activism, and generosity of trans activists, specifically trans women of color.

 Trans activists are present at the forefront of rights struggles, and our grassroots focused, innovative philanthropy centers trans voices in global activism. The Astraea Foundation will continue to responsively support trans-led organizations and groups to interrupt systems of oppression and build toward a future where our communities survive and thrive.