On Nov. 20, Salt Lake Community College commemorated Transgender Day of Remembrance at South City Campus, which featured the unveiling of a permanent stone monument honoring the transgender community.
Following a denial from SLCC’s executive cabinet to officially name the South City courtyard the “Transgender Justice and Liberation Courtyard” in June (citing the college’s naming policy), the cabinet agreed to the placement of a stone monument in the space with a quote from Marsha P. Johnson, a queer liberation activist and prominent figure in the Stonewall uprising of 1969.
“How many years has it taken people to realize that we are all brothers and sisters and human beings in the human race?” the plaque reads. The stone will also feature a dedication plaque at a later date.
Advocates of both the courtyard’s naming effort and now its monument include the college’s Gender and Sexuality Student Resource Center and queer student and employee associations. For them, the task of installing a concrete indicator of support for the LGBTQ+ community was not easy.
Back-and-forth conversations, stories and educational moments had been going on for approximately two years before reaching a consensus, according to Anthony Nocella, associate professor of criminal justice.
“Social change occurs not in a vacuum, not in a bureaucratic way, but through hearts, passion and caring about each other,” Nocella told those in attendance during the event.
Cate Gunnerson and Allyssa Worthen, two SLCC students, gave a presentation on 20 of the 321 lives that had been taken between October 2022 and September 2023 due to anti-transgender violence. Gunnerson and Worthen said the presentation allowed them to honor the memory of each life properly and put faces to the statistics.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights noted that 80% of trans women killed in the United States are 35 or younger. One harrowing detail Gunnerson and Worthen mentioned is that most transgender people are killed by someone they know. “Be cautious, but do not let that light dim inside of you,” Gunnerson said.
Transgender Day of Remembrance was first observed in Boston and San Francisco in 1999 after the murders of Rita Hester, Chanelle Pickett and Monique Thomas – all black trans women. In addition to remembering those who have passed, the day also aims to celebrate those who are alive.
“We do grow up,” said Nick Arteaga, transgender rights strategist for the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah. “We do live long and beautiful lives full of life, love and smiles.”
Attendance at SLCC’s Transgender Day of Remembrance celebration was higher than usual for an event tailored toward the LGBTQ+ community. Worthen noted that she was pleased with the turnout, as previous LGBTQ+ events at SLCC have often been small in nature.
SLCC President Deneece Huftalin was present at the event and spoke to the audience about the importance of honoring the students that make up the college’s body. “Understand that there is a commitment across all of our sites,” Huftalin said.
The stone monument is not the first acknowledgement SLCC has made. The South City Campus is also home to the Peace and Justice Garden, created to recognize all marginalized groups. Additionally, the college adopted the reading of a land acknowledgement at the top of events, which recognizes that SLCC sits on land that belongs to Utah’s Indigenous tribes.
Ember, a recent SLCC graduate who asked not to have their last name shared, spoke positively about the college’s efforts toward highlighting and promoting inclusivity on campus. “SLCC is such an open-minded and supportive environment where students can find themselves. That is not something that any class can intrinsically do,” she said.
Ember said that while most of her experiences at SLCC were wonderful, her hope is that a pattern of continued cultural cultivation follows the stone monument. Separately, Worthen said, “At the end of the day, people deserve to be known.”
While the stone monument is set to serve as a permanent reminder of support and solidarity with SLCC’s transgender community and the larger LGBTQ+ community, the rock is still undergoing engraving and will return to the courtyard once finished.
