BECOME A MEMBER OF THE BUTTERFLY SOCIETY AND SUPPORT THE TRANSGENDER

TRANSGENDER DAY OF REMEMBRANCE PALM SPRINGS 2022

The Transgender Health & Wellness Center is hosting the Transgender Day of Remembrance in multiple cities. TDoR was founded in 1999 by Gwendolyn Ann Smith. It has grown into a global moment to have a vigil to read the names of the transgender, gender non-conforming, and intersex (TGI) persons that have been murdered for being TGI. Although, in a more supportive administration the previous administration with state conservative activists has nurtured an environment where ignorance is encouraged and rewarded. In 2020, there were a little over two dozen reported murders of TGI people in

the U.S. Since then, the number has doubled. We have chosen to increase visibility to bring public attention to these senseless acts of
violence by hosting TDoR vigils in Palm Springs, Riverside, Crestline, and Victorville. The Palm Springs TDoR has historically been held at Palm Springs City Hall. The locations/times in Riverside, Crestline, and Victorville will be announced soon. We ask that our allies please take a moment to join us and sign up with our Eventbrite so that we can change this world together. 2017 was a historical year for the City of Palm Springs, as Transgender Community Coalition donated the first Transgender Day of Remembrance Memorial Cenotaph in memory of those transgender people that have been murdered and committed suicide due to a world that is not understanding nor accepting. This statue is the first of its kind and we thank everyone who participated in this inspiring event, showing your support for the transgender community. The Cenotaph is on display in the front lobby of the Palm Springs City Hall.

Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDoR) was founded in 1999 by Gwendolyn Ann Smith when she held a vigil for Rita Hester, a transgender woman that was murdered. It has become a global event to address the violence and oppression against this community. It is a time when the community that supports LGBTQ equality comes forward with their direct support to end violence against the transgender, intersex, gender non-conforming and non-binary communities.

Your funds directly support the Transgender Health and Wellness Center’s goal to end economic disparity, homelessness, violence, healthcare discrimination and lack of access. We educate about HIV, PrEP and PEP, provide linkage to healthcare and life-saving medications, educational materials, youth empowerment, suicide prevention, policy reform, homelessness, housing rights and public accommodations. This highly-recognized event in the transgender community works as a means to connect to the transgender, intersex, gender non-conforming and non-binary community for linkage to

care listed above and more.

THE ARTIST:
Heath Satow (b. 1969) is an American artist who works primarily in fabricated metals. He received national attention for his 9/11 Memorial sculpture of hands – created with 3,000 stainless-steel doves – lifting one of the twisted steel beams from the World Trade Center to the sky. His passion is art that expresses social justice issues and the inequality of the discriminated and oppressed.

Inspired by the scale model that Thomi Clinton presented to him, Satow has created a unique piece of Cenotaph art (an empty tomb or a monument erected in honor of a person or group of people) that embodies the murders and injustices faced by the transgender community in hopes of increasing public conversation to support transgender equality. The piece was inspired by the murder of transgender woman of color Yaz’min Sanchez, who was thrown into a Florida alley and burned to death. The scorched burned marks from her remains inspired a breathtaking sculpture of a person laying in a somber fetal position covered in butterflies. Butterflies are the spiritual symbol of transgender people. These butterflies represent the spirits of those we have lost preparing to return to their Creator in the heavens.