The Old Man's Corner: 23 Years & Counting E.L. Winston

Rochelle J. Photography

THE OLD MAN'SCORNER

E.L. WINSTON

23 YEARS & COUNTING

Transgender Day of Remembrance was founded in order to memorialize the 1999 murder of Rita Hester, a transgender woman, and by 2010 TDOR had become globally recognized in 185 cities across 20 countries.

Being a trans man of color, life comes with its own set of stressors automatically. This day brings those to the forefront all the more. In the back of your mind, you're always wondering, “Am I going to make it home today”? Let’s just take a moment to think about this. TDOR has only existed for 23 years, but we know that the violence did not just start then. There are so many who have been murdered, abused, bullied, demeaned, etc. and we don’t even know their names. They are our brothers and sisters who have no one to speak their names and our brothers and sisters who left the world being misgendered with their dead name labeling them. No one being given the opportunity to acknowledge who they truly were. See where my stress and sadness come from?

At this moment though, I also have to look at the sunshine or I'll drown in the rain. Out of great loss always comes great change. We are now more in the light from fashion to TV to politics. You name it and there's a Trans person living out loud in living color. Yes, we are still very aware of the dangers that face us everyday but we’re also very aware that our community is thriving. There are more laws on the books than ever to protect our human rights. Our Trans youth have the freedom to be seen and heard. There are more safe spaces for them to go. This definitely was not the case for me growing up. Being able to find and afford trans affirming meds has definitely changed for the better in the last 23 years. Affirming surgeries have come a long way and it's also less difficult to find a surgeon for affirming surgery. We don’t have to leave the country for surgery (unless we’re trying to save some money). Trans people portraying trans people on the big and small screen is not a foreign concept and neither is portraying cis gendered people as well. Things that were not even a conversation 23 years ago are now a reality. Although there is still a great distance between the darkness and the light we are closer to the light then we’ve ever been. We will continue to speak the names and tell our memories of those we’ve lost while standing up for and pouring into those of us still here in the fight. I continue to hope and pray that TDOR becomes something we speak about in past tense because we’ve gotten to the place where we are recognized for who we are….your brothers. Sisters, aunts, uncles, etc. Human beings deserving of life just like all the other family. Do an Old Man a favor today and have a moment of silence for those we’ve lost. Then go out of your way to learn something new from someone different than you. Maybe if we do that everyday we won't have to mourn the loss of our loved ones to violence by their hands or anyone else’s.