Remembering Our Dead" honored at awards
GNWS
"Remembering Our Dead," a website dedicated to transgendered people who have
died at the hands of another, was honored with a nomination for the
prestigious Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) Media
Awards, in the category of Outstanding GLBT Digital Media. Gwendolyn Ann
Smith, creator of the site, was the guest of Gay.com at the awards ceremony
in San Francisco on June 3, where the award was presented to
Blackstripe.com.
Smith knew it was going to be a special night from the beginning, when the
first image shown during an opening montage of important queer images was a
clip of Marsha P. Johnson, an early queer activist known as one of the
instigators of the Stonewall Riots, and one of the over 200 names listed on
the Remembering Our Dead website.
"I was moved and touched to see my little work on a screen 20 or so feet
wide in front of a ballroom of celebrities, officials and industry leaders,"
said Smith. "I realized that what started as a simple personal way to
remember those who paid the ultimate price while simply living a
transgendered life had made an impact on a wider culture. Seeing my work
on that screen in that room, the names and lives of those special people
shining out at us, reminded me again that one person can make a difference."
Along with Blackstripe.com and Remembering Our Dead, Queernet, Blythe House
Quarterly and Keanoo's Queer Asian Links were also nominated. "All the
nominees are doing very good and important things, and I was proud to be
among them," said Smith, "but the best thing was that sitting there front
and center, I very much felt a part of the event. It was not just that I
was seen, but that all of those lives I set out to remember were also seen,
acknowledged and honored -- something that trans people often feel is denied
them."
"For me, Remembering Our Dead is not only about death, but about life. When
we hear about the death of another we can either retreat and try to hide, or
we can remember that life is precious and commit ourselves to make the most
of the life we were given. I try to honor transgender lives, not simply
transgender deaths, and for the members of GLAAD to see and acknowledge that
was very moving."
As one of four GLAAD award ceremonies -- other categories were honored in
New York, Washington and Los Angeles -- the evening was full of glamour and
sparkle. "Margaret Cho and I talked about what really matters in a queer
movement and I had a very nice chat with Jeri Ryan from Star Trek: Voyager.
I was greeted with a kiss from SF Supervisor Mark Leno, with whom I have
worked with on a number of San Francisco projects, and spoke with Joan M.
Garry, the executive director of GLAAD about the importance of
trans-inclusion."
Remembering Our Dead is supported by Gender Education Alliance (GEA), the
GLBT Historical Society of Northern California, and by Fox Searchlight
Pictures, who distributed the film Boys Don't Cry.
"As I left the event, I was very pleased. Not only had I been recognized
and honored with a nomination, but all the transgender lives included in
Remembering Our Dead had also been in that room, no longer hidden, but still
shining as bold, messy, complex and beautiful examples of what it means to
be human in this world."
Remembering Our Dead can be found at http://www.gender.org/remember
Deb Marsh
> special people shining out at us, reminded me again that one person
> can make a difference.
True in Gwen's case - thank you Gwen.......
Deborah