How to Observe Transgender Day of Remembrance and Resilience on November 20 in Oregon
Thursday, November 20, 2025 is the annual holiday Transgender Day of Remembrance, which some in community also recognize as Transgender Day of Resilience. As GLAAD explains it:
“Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) was started in 1999 by transgender advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith as a vigil to honor the memory of Rita Hester, a transgender woman who was killed in 1998. The vigil commemorated all the transgender people lost to violence since Rita Hester’s death, and began an important tradition that has become the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance.”
TDOR was and is important because trans folks, especially Black and brown trans women and transfemsmes, are more likely to be victims of violence, including murder. Additionally, transgender people face a host of challenges that can contribute to untimely deaths, including discrimination in the medical system, employment and housing; higher rates of houselessness and incarceration; and mental health struggles linked to the discrimination we face from an early age. In the 1990 and aughts, a time when trans folks were much less visible in the mainstream than we are today, the act of gathering and recognizing trans lives lost to violence in the last year was meaningful—it sent the message that these people existed, their lives mattered, and they deserved to be honored in death for who they truly were. And in 2025, as trans folks’ humanity often seems to be on public trial, observing TDOR is still a defiant and significant thing to do.
At the same time, it’s important to remember that trans people are so much more than the violence we face and the tragedies we suffer. That’s why, in recent years, many have chosen to extend the day’s meaning to also being Trans Day of Resilience. As one trans young person wrote in 2019, “How do we make this day feel less triggering and more welcoming to trans people who want to be surrounded by community? There is more to trans life than death and shifting Trans Day of Remembrance to Trans Day of Resilience is a way to center a new narrative.”
Things to Do on TDOR
Here’s a roundup of things you can do on November 20 to observe Trans Day of Remembrance and Resilience. Click the link in each listing for more information. If you know of events we’re missing in Oregon, let us know and we’ll try to get them added before Thursday!
Portland State University’s Queer Resource Center is hosting a community event from 5-7pm. Register here to get more info.
In Eugene, there’s a candlelight vigil happening 5:30-7pm in the Farmer’s Market Pavilion.
At Lewis & Clark, the OUTLaw student group is showing a documentary on trans joy on campus.
In Vancouver, WA, a group of nonprofits is hosting an event at the Metropolitan Arts Theatre.
The United Methodist Church in Portland’s Goose Hollow neighborhood presents an annual interfaith vigil at 6pm.
You can see Atlas, a drag artist, singer-songwriter and activist, perform Atlas: a Night of Music and Storytelling at the Old Church Concert Hall in Portland.
The Q Center in NE Portland is hosting a vigil with light refreshments at 7pm.
Join the Oregon State University Pride Center and Mid-Willamette Trans Support Network for a day-long celebration of Trans Day of Remembrance in Corvallis.
In Eugene, TransPonder is hosting an open all-day vigil, with a reading of names from 6-8pm.
The Salem Human Rights Commission is hosting a vigil at the Salem Public Library at 6pm. You can also view it online.
In Ashland, Southern Oregon University’s Social Justice and Equity Center is holding a gathering from 6-8pm.
Newport Pride is hosting an event at the Newport Public Library from 5:30-6:30pm.
For those unable to attend an event in-person, GLAAD is hosting an online vigil.
Another online option: Heightened Scrutiny, a documentary that follows transgender lawyer Chase Strangio as he prepares to defend gender-affirming care access before the US Supreme Court, is streaming online now through the end of TDOR.