Kindred Connections Collective
(to read the full poem, click here)
TDOR 2023
Our Kin
We honor our trans siblings and uplift their names. They are nestled within and closely held by our hearts, minds, and souls.
Although they have been stolen from us, they will never be forgotten.
Their spirits and power continue to flow into and through us across time and space.
Below are the names and images of our stolen siblings. Those listed are the 62 siblings whose lives were stolen on Turtle Island and publicly recorded from October 1, 2022 – September 30, 2023. As with all previous years, Black trans women are disproportionately represented.
This list contains too many names, yet it does not bear witness to all of our stolen trans kin.
Remembering Our Dead reports that globally, at least 392 trans siblings were stolen from us October 1, 2022 – September 30, 2023. As with all previous years, Black Trans women are disproportionately represented.
And while the weight of this number is immense, we know this is not all. Many of our kin are misgendered and thus never counted. Many of our trans sibs’ murders are hidden or misconstrued by and under patriarchy, white supremacy, and political agendas- agendas that invisibilize and revictimize our beautiful sibs.
Try as they might to force us to disappear quietly, to separate us, to make us small, invisible, forgotten —
We Will Not Go. We Will Not Be Erased.
We will carry our grief and joy like our kin in our hearts and souls.
We will carry our grief and joy like webs and tools, building connections, safety, strength –
firing our collective holdings into the most fine vessels to carry our truths.
We will carry our grief and joy through joy and grief through survival into abundance.
We will carry our grief and joy and each other together.
In Remembrance
To view images in a large format, one at a time, please click on an image and use the arrows that appear on the left and right of the screen to scroll through. To learn more about any individual, please scan the QR code on their image or visit: Remembering Our Dead (translivesmatter.info).
