Los Angeles city officials will gather at 11 a.m. Wednesday during a virtual celebration of Transgender Awareness Month and Transgender Day of Remembrance.
Councilman Mitch O’Farrell, Mayor Eric Garcetti, the Los Angeles Police Department, the city’s Transgender Advisory Council and the Department of Human and Civil Rights will be featured in the celebration.
O’Farrell said he will recognize the important work being done through St. John’s Well Child and Family Center and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles to improve the health of transgender individuals.
“To say that 2020 has been a challenging year would be a vast understatement; however, out of the many unprecedented challenges we face, there is untold opportunity,” he said.
The event is being held online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Transgender Awareness Month takes place annually each November and is held to raise awareness of the community through education and advocacy.
During the event, a moment of silence will follow the reading of the names of the 34 transgender and gender non-conforming people killed in the United States in 2020.
According to the Human Rights Campaign, the majority of the transgender victims were Black and Latinx transgender women. Oftentimes, these cases go unreported or misreported, according to the HRC.
“Liberty and justice for all has no footnote of exclusion,” LAPD Assistant Chief Beatrice Girmala said. “As a community, our collective commitment must be unwavering to protect, support and defend the rights and safety of all transgender Angelenos. Nothing and no one thrives in the shadows. Let light, unity and the goal of equality define our message during Transgender Awareness Month.”
Karina Samala, the chair of the Transgender Advisory Council, said: “Every day, I engage with transgender men and women who aren’t accepted by their families for who they are. This event serves as a reminder that our lives matter, and we are making a difference in our communities in Los Angeles.”
O’Farrell said City Hall will be illuminated in the Trans Pride colors on Friday in observance of Transgender Day of Remembrance.
The virtual event will be shown live on O’Farrell’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/CouncilmemberMitchOFarrell.