Thursday, December 20, 2018

[212] MTSU student organization to observe Transgender Day of Remembrance Nov. 17



MURFREESBORO, Tenn. —MTSU invites the community to join in a moment of reflection for lives lost to violence and prejudice.

The third annual Transgender Day of Remembrance at MTSU is slated for 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 17, on the Student Union Commons or, in the event of inclement weather, the Student Union Ballroom. The event is sponsored by MT Lambda, a student organization dedicated to ensuring a safe environment for the LGBT+ community.

A searchable campus parking map is available at http://tinyurl.com/MTSUParkingMap.

Marisa Richmond, an adjunct professor of history at MTSU, and the Rev. Alaina Cobb, pastor of the Mercy Junction Justice and Peace Center at St. Andrews in Chattanooga, Tennessee, will be the featured speakers.

Richmond is a member of the National Center for Transgender Equality board of directors and is a lobbyist for the Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition. Cobb is a theologian, an abuse survivor and a member of the Progressive Christian Alliance.

“I attended this event last year for the first time, and I was overwhelmed by the somber reverence of it,” said Tina Moore, vice president of MT Lambda. “This even is emotional because we are acknowledging and commemorating the loss of our trans family members. But it’s such a meaningful event because it gives us a chance to come together and grieve and heal as a community.”

Transgender advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith started the national event in 1999 to honor Rita Hester, a transgender woman who was murdered in 1998. It has come to be a sobering tribute to all people who have lost their lives because of their gender nonconformance. 

This event is free and open to the public. For more information, please contact MT Lambda at mtlambda@mtsu.eduor go to www.mtsu.edu/mtlambda.
     

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