Stockton's 1st Ever Transgender Day of Remembrance!

Mark your calendar’s for Stockton’s first ever Transgender Day of Remembrance will take place Sunday, November 22 from 6-8 pm at the Central United Methodist Church located on 3700 Pacific Ave. Stockton, CA. I went ahead and pulled a blurb from their Facebook event:

This evening will be our time to remember those who have lost their lives for their gender identity and to celebrate those people and organizations that support the transgender community.

This is our first year, and we dedicate this night to Ariana Dibble, a transwoman who was murdered in Stockton on May 20, 2006. There were no arrests, and the murder remains unsolved to this day.

We will begin with a short memorial service at Central United Methodist Church. Then we will have a silent candle light march down Pacific Avenue to the First Unitarian Universalist Church at Pacific and Bristol, where we will have a Celebration Service to honor those who are dedicated to saving the lives of transgender people.

Alexis Rivera, Community Outreach Coordinator for the Transgender Law Center (TLC) in San Francisco will be our Keynote Speaker for the evening.

Alexis Rivera, a proud queer trans-identified woman, was born and raised in Los Angeles. Alexis has been involved in the Transgender community for the past 12 years. She has participated as a Commissioner for the Los Angeles County Commission on HIV/AIDS; was on the founding board of the Female-to-Male Alliance of Los Angeles; and, for the past 5 years, chaired the Transgender Service Provider Network. Alexis is an Alpha member of the League of Trans Unified Sisters (LOTUS). And she has participated and graduated from the HIV Prevention Leadership Internship with The Center of Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta. She recently has moved to San Francisco to join TLC.

Due to her many affiliations, Alexis has received several awards, including: the Trailblazer Award; the Latino Caucus on HIV Prevention Leadership Award; the Spirit Award; and was named Miss Quest, 2002. In describing her commitment and passion for her community, she states, “My activism is rooted from love.”

This event is co-sponsored by Stockton Transgender Alliance, Central United Methodist Church, First Unitarian Universalist Church, Marriage Equality USA – San Joaquin Chapter, Central Valley Stonewall Democrats, Valley Ministries Metropolitan Community Church, and the Peace and Justice Center of San Joaquin County.