Transgender Day of Remembrance Shabbat Remarks 2024

We were grateful to have Sandy and Logann on the bimah to share original writing for the Trans Day of Remembrance at Shabbat Services on Friday, November 15.

“It is a scary time to be a gay trans Jew, and I thank god for it every day,” shared Sandy Sahar Gooen (he/him) at Transgender Day of Remembrance Shabbat at CBST. 

Logann Grayce Finkel (they/them) also shared an original poem: 

A TDOR PLEA by Logann Grayce
Silence is violence
So I raise my voice to speak on behalf of those afraid; those in hiding
Shape my words carefully, speaking for those who are no longer able
Their precious lives taken by acts of violence and brutality
Be it by weapons, or physical strength, or horrific acts beyond one’s most grotesque imagination
The numbers ever growing, tears and fears of myself and trans siblings ever growing
Tears and fears of those who love us, who loved them, growing, flowing
A broken dam unleashing enough water to drown the earth
While hate still burns so hot, it could suck it all dry
Families, chosen or birth, left with a gaping hole where another one of our Trans siblings lived
Trans lives are sacred yet undervalued, ignored and often erased
And we must speak louder, crying harder for Trans siblings of color, our Black Trans siblings
Our Trans sisters, Trans sisters of color, Black Trans sisters
For these Trans women;
When will existing and living their authentic lives, and not hiding, simply be another day of living and being,
And not an act of bravery; a safety risk
The reported numbers ever growing yet underestimated
While the United States of America divides over our fate; some uniting in hate
Divisions within each one rise like the number of anti-trans bills being introduced each year
About 664 to date across 43 states
We have a right to exist!
Beyond existence, it’s our right to flourish and grow
To have our spirits rise in celebration
Rather than beaten down by bullies and hate speech, and those we thought knew better
Should do better
Leaving many of our Trans siblings, barely grown, not yet on their own
Feeling terribly alone
To be murdered by the hands of a painful helplessness and hopelessness, some may call suicide
But I call it failure to thrive after trying to survive in a country, in a world, that has barely scratched the surface when it comes to drying our tears, calming our fears
And honoring and protecting what is sacred
Our sacred Trans bodies, our sacred Trans minds, our sacred Trans spirits
Remember, silence is violence
So I raise my voice to speak on behalf of those afraid; those in hiding, those yet to come out, and yet to be born
But will you, each and every one of you regardless of your gender, my human siblings; will you raise your voices with me, take action, and speak out against the violence and injustices
So that one day the number of Trans lives saved, honored, included, employed, nourished, loved and celebrated, far outnumbers those Trans lives we mourn today and in years prior.
— Logann Grayce