Organizers are calling San Diego’s observance of the Transgender Day of Remembrance a tremendous success. Over 320 people turned out for the ceremony to honor and remember transgender people who were killed this past year.

“I did not expect this many people here tonight and I am very touched,” said Amanda Watson, one of the events organizers, at the youth rally preceding the march. “We’re a little late today, but I think it’s kind of appropriate. I ran out of time to get everything done. These people, whose lives we are going to celebrate tonight ran out of time too.”

The event included a youth rally and march through Hillcrest, and ended with a candle lighting ceremony.

IMPACT (Involving Minds in Peaceful Actions to bring Communities Together), a local youth group, organized the rally, which included speakers from the district attorney’s office and from local high schools and universities. IMPACT was founded in 2002 to fight bias, bigotry and racism throughout San Diego County. The organization actively worked on the No on 54 campaign, coordinated a number of youth rallies and will be doing a production of The Laramie Project this year.

“I came to the transgender day of remembrance last year and I was incredibly inspired,” said Jessica Bennett, IMPACT Chairperson about the group’s involvement in the Day of Remembrance. “When I was looking at our calendar this year I knew we wanted to hold a youth rally and I also knew I wanted to get involved in this event this year, so I melded that idea of what really inspired and charged me up to want to make change and to remember those people who have been lost to bigotry [and] prejudice and put that together with our social activism.”

AJ Davis-Defeo, the director of The Center’s Public Policy Department, coordinated IMPACT’s involvement in the Day of Remembrance.

“I love working with IMPACT; they are such a great, active group of youth,” Davis-Defeo said. “They do so much good work. Working on LGBT issues is one of their priorities this year and I am so happy to be able to work with them on this because they are so active, they have such great energy and they are such great volunteers.”

Watson added, “I feel IMPACT’s presence was important in bringing the youth involved, especially non-LGBT youth. As we educate our youth we end up making a better world, hopefully.”

Following the IMPACT rally, over 100 people marched from The Center down University Ave. to 6th St. and back, carrying banners, flags and signs showing their support for the transgender community. At the candle lighting ceremony, the names of those killed in acts of violence this past year were read as a candle was lit in their memory. The Center’s auditorium was filled to standing room only.

“I felt pride, not necessarily in myself but in the community, to see everyone coming together and putting aside differences and being willing to embrace diversity to educate themselves,” Watson said. “I think this year went beyond what last year’s even was. That was the first event we had ever held here and the goal was to outreach more into the transgender community, where this year’s focus was to do more outreach to everyone.”

The first Transgender Day of Remembrance took place in the 1970’s, but in recent years it has become a more widespread observance. This year marks the second official observance on the Day of Remembrance here in San Diego.