It took an Academy Award-nominated actor coming out as transgender to garner national attention for the epidemic of violence against the trans community.
During its story about Elliot Page, acclaimed for his performance in the film “Juno” and currently starring in “The Umbrella Academy” on Netflix, “NBC Nightly News With Lester Holt“ reported that at least 40 trans and gender nonconforming people, most of them Black and Latinx women, have been murdered in the United States and Puerto Rico this year. That breaks 2017′s record of 31.
“The discrimination toward trans people is rife, insidious, and cruel, resulting in horrific consequences,” Page said in a tweet. “To the political leaders who work to criminalize trans health care and deny our right to exist and to all of those with a massive platform who continue to spew hostility toward the trans community: you have blood on your hands.”
That includes the Trump administration, which has attacked trans civil rights by rolling back protections in housing, health care, schools, and the military. To rescind human rights is to declare someone unworthy of them, breeding the hatred and resentment that can warp into the brutality that ends lives.
Too often trans people’s killings are little acknowledged or recognized outside of LGBTQ media. So, with statistics from the Human Rights Campaign — and a nod to Faces of COVID, which remembers on Twitter those lost in the pandemic — I’m going to devote several of my remaining columns this year to memorializing trans and gender-nonconforming people murdered while living their authentic truth.
Dustin Parker, 25, on Jan. 1 in McAlester, Okla: A taxi driver, Parker was remembered by his employer as “a steadfast friend, an amazing husband and father, and generous to a fault. He loved fiercely, worked tirelessly, and took on life with so much hope and enthusiasm that his presence brightened all of our lives.” Parker was a founding member of Oklahomans for Equality-McAlester Chapter: Southeastern Equality, a local LGBTQ organization.
Neulisa Luciano Ruiz, also known as Alexa Negrón, 28, on Feb. 24, in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico: She was described by a friend as “humble” and “noble.” After her murder, singer Bad Bunny performed on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” wearing a T-shirt with the words “Mataron a Alexa, no a un hombre con falda” — “They killed Alexa, not a man in a skirt.”
Yampi Méndez Arocho, 19, on March 5 in Moca, Puerto Rico: Arocho loved NBA basketball, especially the Miami Heat. On social media, his photos often featured him wearing the team’s apparel. He was also a hip-hop fan, and posted a Facebook video of himself rapping as “the boy of the girls breaking the beat.”
Scott/Scottlynn Devore, 51, on March 14 in Augusta, Ga.: Devore was a talented hairdresser who also loved to sing. Described by loved ones on Facebook as “sweet” and “beautiful,” one recalled that Devore “had the ability to walk into a room, look around, and say, no, this will not do. And, within 30 minutes you could make the room look magnificent.”
Monika Diamond, 34, on March 18 in Charlotte, N.C.: Co-owner of an event promotion company, Diamond was also co-CEO of the International Mother of the Year Pageantry System, which honors LGBTQ mothers. “Through her work, Diamond spent her adult life creating community and spaces for LGBTQ people in Charlotte and beyond to come together and celebrate their lives,” Human Rights Campaign wrote in a blog post.
Lexi “Ebony” Sutton, 33, on March 28 in Harlem, New York: “I really looked up to her because of her tolerance and respect,” Lavonia Brooks, a friend, said of Sutton, who loved makeup, fashion, and poetry. “Lexi had a beautiful heart, she was very gifted.”
Johanna Metzger, 25, on April 14 in Baltimore: According to her mother, Metzger, who was visiting from Philadelphia, was a self-taught musician who learned to play multiple instruments.
Serena Angelique Velázquez Ramos, 32, and Layla Pelaez Sánchez, 21, on April 21 in Humacao, Puerto Rico: The two women were friends and fellow New Yorkers visiting the island for an extended stay. Ramos was remembered by her sister for “her courage and determination to pursue her dreams and personal desires.” Sanchez, her cousin said, was “an easygoing young woman who had been raised by her grandmother and was just beginning to explore the world.”
Renée Graham is a Globe columnist. She can be reached at renee.graham@globe.com.