Transgender Day observance planned

Maui Pride will observe Transgender Day of Remembrance beginning at 5 p.m. Monday at Kamaole I Beach Park in Kihei. Organized by local transgender author and activist Danielle Bergan, the event will commemorate all those transgender men and women who suffered violent, senseless deaths in 2017.

During the event, there will be a reading of the list of those who have been killed this year. Anyone in attendance is welcome to participate. The event will end at sunset with a flower ceremony, and all those who want to participate are asked to bring loose flowers.

Transgender Day of Remembrance, a nationwide event, was started by transgender advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith as a vigil to honor the memory of Rita Hester, a transgender woman who was brutally murdered in 1998.