The O’Connell House grew silent as members of the Queer Leadership Council (QLC) read aloud the names of transgender people killed this year in the United States, placing flowers in front of their photos.
“Tonight, we speak the names of those we have lost, and we bring their names to life,” said Gabriel Hallberg, QLC associate director and MCAS ’26. “We share their stories because their lives were beautiful, because they were beautiful in all of their transness and because of their transness.”
QLC hosted the vigil on Transgender Day of Remembrance—observed annually on Nov. 20—to honor people who have died as a result of anti-trans violence in the last year.
The prefix “trans”— which means “across” or “beyond”—fully encapsulates what it means to be human, Hallberg said.
“Being trans is simply being yourself, and that is beautiful,” Hallberg said. “When we are ourselves, we truly become in touch with what life has to offer, and life has a lot to offer. The everydayness and simple existence that we are all blessed to have in this room reveals so many wonderful facets of personhood.”
QLC members alternated between reading statistics about discrimination against trans people and sharing anecdotes about the individuals killed this year.
So far this year, at least 30 trans and gender-expansive people have been killed in the United States, according to the Human Rights Campaign. Of those, 52 percent were Black transgender women—a group that is especially marginalized, Hallberg said.
Black transgender individuals face added disparities, with an unemployment
rate of 26 percent, a homelessness rate of 41 percent, and 39 percent living in poverty, Hallberg added.
Even in the face of sobering statistics, Hallberg emphasized that death and suffering can point to deeper truths about humanity.
“I found that death does what it often tragically does, which is remind us of life,” Hallberg said. “When we see no life, we realize what life is. When we see people stripped of their humanity, we realize what it means to be human. When we see injustice, we are reminded clearly what justice is.”
This year, state legislatures across the country proposed 665 “anti-transgender bills,” 45 of which were passed, according to Hallberg. During the 2024 election cycle, the Republican Party spent almost $215 million on network TV ads targeting trans people—about $134 per trans person in the United States, according to Hallberg.
“The hatred and opposition that transgender Americans face is very real and very alive,” Hallberg said. “We live in a polarized nation, people are taking sides, and it seems that neither political party wants to protect transgender rights.”
In response to this opposition, many people are tempted to avoid participating in politics and advocacy, but this only worsens the problem, Hallberg said.
“Attempting to escape these systems that hurt transgender individuals is dangerous, and it does not change these systems that continue to perpetuate and do harm, and we need to change these systems to stop the cycles of oppression that are ongoing,” Hallberg said.
The solution lies in fostering community and love, according to Hallberg.
“What we can do is build community,” Hallberg said. “That’s the technical term for just simply loving each other. And if we leave with kindness and love, we make the places we inhabit that much better,” Hallberg said.
Hallberg called on attendees to continue standing up for the transgender community.
“It’s our duty to take care of each other, and those of us who are transgender are being unfairly and unjustly targeted, and it’s everyone’s duty—especially those who are cisgender—to take care of and advocate for the needs of the transgender community,” Hallberg said.
H Edwards, QLC intersectionality coordinator and MCAS ’26, closed the vigil by quoting transgender activist Cecilia Gentili, who compared equality to an “endless cake” that grows as more people benefit from it.
“The work you do is living, and you have to keep living, because your life will be the forefront, not only for our liberation but everyone’s liberation because it truly is an endless cake,” Edwards said.
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