GRAND FORKS — For speakers at the Transgender Day of Remembrance ceremony at UND's Christus Rex Lutheran Center, the importance of the event lies in its representation of those who have come before and shows community members they are cared for.

Charles Vondal, who has been hosting the ceremony for years, said he wishes one day that there will be enough time and candles to cover the names of everyone across the world. For now, the ceremony focuses on United States names.

“The very first Transgender Day of Remembrance that I was part of was when the Queer and Trans Alliance was known as the Ten Percent Society,” he said.

Transgender Day of Remembrance is held to commemorate all transgender people who have died from violence over the past year. It was started in 1999 by transgender advoca

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