A list of 330 names read aloud; a moment of silence for another 41 people whose names are unknown.
They are the dead. Not of a war, or conflict, but simply for being a trans or non-binary person.
The names read aloud at the Greater Sudbury Public Library’s main branch on Nov. 20 were those of trans people from around the world who died from violence in 2024. This year, 86 per cent of the names on the list are Black, Indigenous or people of colour.
You can read their names here and here.
Hosted by Fierté Sudbury Pride in partnership with Réseau ACCESS Network, Black Lives Matter - Sudbury, Pride Laurentian, Northern Ontario Pride Connection, SWANS (Sex Worker Advisory Network of Sudbury), and the library, the event drew more than 50 people.
Quinn Organ, a two-spirit person from Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory who uses they/them pronouns, spoke about the lack of representation in their life, and how that lack of representation and the internalized shame led to suicide attempts.
They said any month other than June, the only queer representation came in the form of death statistics, to say nothing of Indigenous representation.
“There was no Indigenous representation, there was no queer representation, there was no Two-Spirit representation, and if there was, it was another death,” said Organ. “This created a lot of internalized shame and guilt, and when I was 12, this internalized shame and guilt translated into internalized suicide ideas. I tried taking my own life when I was 13 because there was nothing for me. I felt that there was nobody like me.”
They said the only thing that helped was creating a mask of femininity, “a mask I sometimes still wear to this day, even being Two Spirit,” said Organ. “Anytime I let that mask slip, I felt like I was risking my life.”
But now, having found a community, Organ said they began to see that they could be their “authentic self.”
A visual artist and member of SWANS, Asha Sutcliffe, spoke of her positive experiences post-transition, but also, the hate and rhetoric that are present in her life. Most of all, she spoke of the importance of education, and of community resilience to counteract misinformation and ignorance.
“I think that's what's important, now more than ever, we have to build up everyone in this room,” she said. “It really is time to start building together and working from the ground up to push forward, because it's going to be daunting, but it can be done.”
Bosmo, a non-binary filmmaker and musician, spoke of their childhood in the Valley, facing shots from an airsoft rifle for not fitting with society’s gender expectations.
“I still remember I would get shot in the face just for being different,” they said. “You could tell that these are not your friends, but you're also not really in a place where you have any other alternatives.”
Bosmo said being forced to “stick with these people” made them, like Organ, create a mask. “You learn to suppress any of your own identity; you kind of just try to learn what is the acceptable identity, and you occupy that space.”
They told the group they moved to Toronto for a time, finding their non-binary identity in a more accepting place, before returning to their hometown.
And even though Sudbury can be a difficult place, Bosmo said it is also where they have found a community that supports them.
“The times are getting harder and the climate is getting harder,” they said. “But they can't take away our identity, and they can't take away our solidarity with each other.”
Jenny Lamothe covers vulnerable and marginalized communities for Sudbury.com
