As many of you may already know Transgender Day of Remembrance first started to honor Rita Hester, whose murder on November 28th, 1998 kicked off the "Remembering Our Dead" web project and a San Francisco candlelight vigil in 1999. Rita Hester’s murder — like most anti-transgender murder cases — has yet to be solved, since then several more of our community members have been brutally murdered over the years which has resulted in mobilizing other cities to do the same.

We are nearing the 12th anniversary of the Trans Day of Remembrance which is on November 20th. Several organizations and groups are currently organizing locally and nationally for their cities.

With the Transgender Day of Remembrance just around the corner. We at TransCEND thought it would be a great idea to reach out to some well known Transgender celebrities and get their thoughts on what it means to be Transgender and to have a day of remembrance specifically for the trans community.

We recently reached out to MTV's Real World: Brooklyn's Katelynn Cusanelli to see if she would be willing to share her thoughts about TDOR. We thought it would be a great opportunity for folks to hear from her personally. She was so kind to provide us with her feedback.

So these are the questions that we had prepared for her with her answers:

1. What does being a part of the trans community mean to you?

Katelynn: Being part of the trans community means that I am part of something greater than just myself. It also means that I go out of my way to make things better for that community, even if that boils down to just trying to be a positive force or influence in my everyday life. The trans community has always gone out of its way to support and help its members, and that is something I really believe in.

2. What does the Trans Day of Remembrance mean to you?

Katelynn: TDOR is an important event. Every year we bring attention to the brutal consequences intolerance and hatred inflict upon our community. It is disheartening that every year we always have new brothers and sisters to add to that ever-growing list. I look forward to the day when those numbers stop incrementing.

3. What are your thoughts on what has been going on in the Trans community as of late?

Katelynn: I'm uncertain of which event specifically you're referring to (though I'm assuming you mean the murder of Sonia Jardiniere in London). It is always tragic when we lose the life of a community member, especially one so dedicated to civil rights as she was. Though that news comes heavier when learning her murder was allegedly perpetrated by another trans woman.

4. How has it impacted you?

Katelynn: This news saddens me, and the way the press is handling the issue infuriates me even more. Every news site refers to Sonia as a "he" or "him", they profile her personal ads on websites in a fashion which serves to denigrate and disrespect her. This news and the way it is published only serves to remind me that we, as a community, have a lot of work to do. Also, while I have no knowledge of the circumstances between these two women, we must above all remember that violence is never an acceptable resolution to whatever quarrels we may have among ourselves. The rest of the world brings enough violence to our doorstep, we needn't abide amongst ourselves.

5. There also have been several trans murders this year alone nationally including @ 5 in Puerto Rico. How does it make you feel to hear that?

Katelynn: It seems like an inordinately large number of deaths for one year, even for a community so unfortunately accustomed to these hateful acts. Nothing I can say will ever seem to be enough to heal the wounds these deaths leave in our community. I don't know what unspeakable crime we Trans-identified individuals have committed, aside from not having the luxury of being born in the "appropriate" body. For years we have mourned and sought to avenge our lost brothers and sisters, and we have moved through these years with ineffable grace and dignity, in spite of the atrocities committed against us.

I both look forward to and fear the time when our anger and outrage can no longer be contained. When at some ill-fated courthouse or in some city's streets we unanimously stand up and say enough! at a stentorian volume that Stonewallers would give pause. Woe be to those who dare provoke our collective wrath, for we are many, and we are strong, and above all else we have proven year in and year out, we shall persevere. Yes, I am angry, but we cannot allow ourselves to become mired in hatred, even though I know there will soon come a day when that seething anger at the intolerance will boil over, just as it did at Stonewall.

6. How has life as an out trans celebrity been for you?

Katelynn: Relatively mild! Everywhere I go I am received quite well, though admittedly the loss of my anonymity can be frustrating at times (especially during job interviews). My day-to-day hasn't changed much at all with the exception that I now have a much larger platform to advocate from.

7. Do you have any thoughts about the recent LGBT bullying & suicides?

Katelynn: As part of my fall lecture series this year I addressed the rash of suicides directly. As I grow older I've come to find that things are never as dire as I believed them to be when I was 15, or 17, or even 19. I'm a huge advocate of both The Trevor Project and It Gets Better. I can't help but feel like perhaps if these teens were able to talk to someone in the community it might have made all the difference in the world.  As for the bullies themselves... I just can't wrap my mind around the psyche of an individual so vile and repugnant that they feel as though lashing out at others around them is a source of enjoyment.

TransCEND would like to thank Katelynn Cusanelli for taking the time to answer our questions and being so open. We will be featuring another High Profile Trans Celebs' thoughts very soon; so be on the look out for the next post.