San Mateo County honors 30th annual Transgender Day of Remembrance
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. (KGO) -- It's not every day that supervisors raise a transgender flag above San Mateo County Hall.
Maybe it happens on one day a year, November 20th. A day with a name and a purpose.
RELATED: Bay Area transgender community reacts after being acknowledged in Joe Biden's victory speech
"This is not only the day of trans remembrance, but trans resistance," said Kin Folkz, a trans activist and art teacher, though this is not the name they were given.
"I was born Kin Folkz, I was named Monica Anderson."
VIDEO: Understanding gender language
Today, Kin edited clips for nine films that will show this weekend at the Lake Chabot Observatory as part of the Transgender Day of Remembrance.
That word 'remembrance' is the most important. Last year, 33 transgender people died at the hand of others across this country.
RELATED: Transgender teen verbally assaulted, mocked by couple in Marin County
"When you look at a life expectancy of every group in the mid-thirties, you develop an us and them mentality," said Kin. "Trans is not about the body, but the gender. Your spirit. My spirit is they/them expansive. My gender is spirit."
You may remember Kin for an art project in Oakland, last July. It took the form of 1,590 feet of colored letters on Bellevue Avenue.
From a distance or above, you could see how they spell these words: "All Black Trans Queer Non Binary Women Disabled and Imprisoned Lives Matter:"
"It is not because we are bad people," said Kin. "It is because we are given no platform to say our lives matter."
They certainly do on The Transgender Day of Remembrance, now in its 30th year. Though really, those sentiments and memories apply every day for this community.
