Gwen Araujo

Gwen Araujo - Good Night, Our Beautiful Angel

Gwen Araujo was brutally murdered by four men in Newark, California.

The following was a speech that I gave on November 20, 2002 at San Francisco's Transgender Day of Remembrance in memory of Gwen

We are gathering here to remember the injustice committed upon us. 

When I first heard about the tragedy in Newark, I must admit that I was too numb to response. I thought I have seen enough of my brothers and sisters died because of others' ignorance. But this was different; it was different because of the media. The media have been covering this crime and through out the coverage that the victim was described as a "boy". That was followed of course by the actual picture of Gwen Araujo-- and it was the face of a beautiful angel.

I can, as I am speaking to you, feel my tears rushing up my throat. They were my sorrow, but they are also my anger. It was the ignorance of the media that angered me. How can one be so uneducated? Transgender is not a four-letter-word; transgender is not a disease, transgender is not a crime. Yet, we are being punished on a daily basis-- our homes are taken away; our jobs are taken away and finally, our lives are taken way.

When school children are taught to love their neighbors, did they not know that we are their neighbors too?

Being transgender is our identity and not our life style. When a crime like this is committed, it was not our character that was being judged and attack, it was because of our skin color, our gender and our being that such unmentionable violence was committed upon. But it is this kind of ignorance that brewed more ignorance. Ignorance is also the fuel for hate. The death of this beautiful girl in Newark is a message to us all. We have a choice. We can be silent and continue with our lives until the ignorance strikes again, maybe the next victim will be me and maybe it will be you. The other choice is for us to speak out and to educate others around us. You are the expert of you life and only you have to true power to break down the walls of ignorance and hate.

Being who we are is our rights and no one, not even death can take that away.

Look around you, and see that you are standing amongst your community. Your choice is to either walk away from us or to embrace us. Please let us join forces.

The only way to end hate crime is through love and education. Through educating, we promote positive changes, through educating we promote tolerance and through educating we promote love. Only on the foundation that is built on love and understanding will we be able to eliminate revenge, aggression, and retaliation.

Let us act now, and carry the message to our legislators, our peers and most important—our children—may they have a future that is filled with love and not hate.