On Sunday, Nov. 20, San Diego will join more than 60 American cities and eight other countries in ceremonies marking the sixth annual Transgender Day of Remembrance. The program begins at 6:30 p.m. with a unity march from The Center at 3909 Centre St. in Hillcrest, going west down University Avenue and then returning to The Center. A memorial service for 21 transgender individuals murdered during 2004 will follow. More than 300 people attended last year’s service, and organizers hope for an even larger turnout this year.

Local sponsors of the event include The Center, the Imperial Court de San Diego and the San Diego-based Transgender Community Coalition. Coalition co-chair Amanda Watson spoke to the Gay & Lesbian Times recently about Sunday’s program, and the challenges transgender people face in San Diego.

“For one thing,” Watson said, “many people, gay and straight, don’t understand what the word transgender means. The term can have multiple meanings, but in general it includes a wide variety of people who may not meet the role expectations of the dominant culture. It can include everyone from a male who is effeminate, to a drag queen or king, to someone who is going for full [sex reassignment] surgery.”

Watson estimates that there are at least 300 transgender people in San Diego County, but acknowledges the difficulty of getting an accurate count since many don’t self-identify as transgender. Nine transgender San Diegans have been murdered, she noted, the most recent occurring roughly 13 years ago.

Watson does not think this statistic necessarily makes San Diego safer than other cities. “It’s just that we’ve been lucky or that crimes have gone unreported,” she said.

Watson cited the Aug. 13, 2004 murder of Tony “Delicious” Green, who was found beaten to death in a San Francisco motel room, as evidence that anti-transgender violence can happen anywhere. Delicious was a 46-year-old African-American who had identified as female since the age of 7.

One important goal of Sunday’s event is to strengthen the bonds between transgender people in San Diego and the gay, lesbian and bisexual community. Watson said that, while the gay, lesbian and bisexual community is more aware of transgender people than the public in general, “I think their understanding of why we are the way we are is just about on the same level as everybody else’s.”

As the community prepares for Sunday’s Day of Remembrance, the Gay & Lesbian Times asked Watson what she would most like readers to know about transgender people. “If you don’t understand something or someone,” she suggested, “don’t make assumptions based on ignorance. I don’t think most people are offended by a sincere question or a request for clarification. Education is always the key to success.”

To learn more visit www.gaylesbian times.com for a link to the Transgender Community Coalition’s website.