Activists in Boston mourning the deaths of Black transgender women Rita Hester and Chanelle Pickett in the 1990s launched an annual event that calls for an end to violence against transgender people.

But three decades later, the violence and fear experienced by transgender people has not diminished.

On Thursday night, those commemorating Transgender Day of Remembrance packed Metropolitan Performing Arts in central Vancouver. The national event honors the memory of transgender people who have died through violent means, including by gun violence and intimate partner violence.

The ceremony brought together religious and nonprofit leaders, children, families and transgender individuals who say they are frustrated by the continued violence against their community. Vancouver Mayor Anne McEne

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