Trans Day of Remembrance: programming for ERGs services for ERGs.
TDOR honors trans lives lost to violence. A day for solemn observance — not celebration, not panels. Read the names.
Read the names
More than a calendar moment.
Trans Day of Remembrance was founded in 1999 by activist Gwendolyn Ann Smith in response to the 1998 murder of Rita Hester, a Black trans woman in Boston, and the lack of public mourning for trans lives lost to violence. The standard observance is a reading of names — trans and gender-nonconforming people killed in the past year, drawn from the annual reports published by GLAAD, HRC, and the Trans Murder Monitoring project at TGEU.
For trans ERG members, the room on November 20 should be quiet, opt-in, and supported. Have the trans ERG lead format and pacing; offer aftercare and mental health resources (Trans Lifeline at 877-565-8860, the Trevor Project at 1-866-488-7386); make it safe to leave or stay. The companion to TDOR is celebratory programming on TDOV in March — the two are intentionally paired — and reading the names is heavy enough on its own without trying to add a panel to it.
The TDOR pitfalls.
What sinks TDOR programming isn't usually a missing speaker — it's a misread of the moment. The three misses worth naming out loud.
Making it celebratory.
TDOR is mourning. The room should reflect that. TDOV in March is the celebration.
Asking trans employees to read the names without support.
Reading the names is emotional labor. Offer support, alternatives, and choice.
Commercial sends on Nov 20.
If your brand sends marketing on TDOR, your trans employees see it. Pause the day.
Curated for Trans Day of Remembrance.
Speakers, facilitators, and vendors filtered for TDOR programming. Pulled live from ERGs.io — every profile is one click away from a full bio, rate, and inquiry form inside the platform.
Other observances in the calendar.
Every observance gets its own planning page — speakers, vendors, programming ideas, and a timeline.
Stop scrambling. Start planning the month that lands.
ERGs.io pulls every speaker, vendor, and programming format into one workspace — so planning TDOR takes one afternoon, not one month of late nights. Free to start.