On Transgender Day of Remembrance, community leaders think of lives lost, demand more from Chicago

CHICAGO (WLS) -- It's Transgender Day of Remembrance, and community leaders gathered at City Hall to remember the lives lost and demand more from Chicago.

It's a solemn day to remember the lives lost, but a chance to cherish the importance of community.

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"I think about all of our trans siblings who are not with us here today, murdered by hate, murdered by lack of resources, murdered by lack of support," 34th Ward Alderman Carlos Ramirez-Rosa said.

On Transgender Day of Remembrance, city leaders and organizations supporting the trans community gathered to shine a light on those like Elise Malary, a 31-year-old Black trans woman who went missing in Evanston in 2022. Her body was pulled from Lake Michigan just days later.

"We are part of the American dream. We deserve adequate housing. We deserve equal opportunity to employment. We deserve the opportunity to walk down the street safely without experiencing rates of violence," said Precious Brady-Davis, a Metropolitan Water Reclamation District commissioner.

According to the annual report done by Transgender Europe and Central Asia, which tracks reported murders of trans people, 350 trans and gender diverse people were murdered globally so far this year. It's a 6 percent increase from last year.

And 93% of the reported murders were Black and brown trans people.

SEE ALSO: What to know about Transgender Day of Remembrance and violence against trans people

"Black trans women, who are the most vulnerable people living in our community," Alderwoman Rossana Rodriquez-Sanchez said.

The vulnerability is top of mind for trans people living in Chicago, as the country prepares for a new presidential administration.

"When you don't have people that don't believe or, you know, have value in gender affirming care, you know that impacts things like allocation of funding, which impacts the care, you know, that we may be able to receive," said Terra Campbell, with Howard Brown Health.

The group Wednesday said they are working with the city for new legislation to further protect trans people, such as requiring Chicago police to keep track of crimes against trans people, specifically.

But the uncertainty of what legislation could or couldn't happen come January is why Karari Olvera, with The TransLatin@ Coalition, is taking her trans daughter to get a name change Wednesday.

"With the current administration coming in, things might get harder for her to get a passport that adequately or correctly showcases her actual gender, her actual gender marker," Olvera said.

Olvera, who also identifies as a trans woman, is planning to schedule any surgeries she needs within the year, as she tries to keep her daughter encouraged to live her truth.

"We survived worse, and will continue to survive. And, as long as we have each other, we will fight for each other," Olvera said.