La vie en rose

“2020 has been a record year for GoDaddy, thanks to you!” the email read.

Sent by [email protected], tucked underneath a glittering banner of a snowflake and stamped with the words “GoDaddy Holiday Party,” the Dec. 14 email to hundreds of GoDaddy employees promised some welcome financial relief during an otherwise stressful year.

“Though we cannot celebrate together during our annual Holiday Party, we want to show our appreciation and share a $650 one-time Holiday bonus!” the email read. “To ensure that you receive your one-time bonus in time for the Holidays, please select your location and fill in the details by Friday, December 18th.”

But, two days later, the company sent another email.

“You’re getting this email because you failed our recent phishing test,” the company’s chief security officer Demetrius Comes wrote. “You will need to retake the Security Awareness Social Engineering training.”

As many of you know, today is Trans Day of Remembrance.

There are no words to express the utter loss our community has suffered this past year. Thirty nine of our siblings in struggle, many of whom were people of color, were killed in the U.S. since January 1 of this year. There may be others whose names we do not yet know. This is a time of mourning for the entire community, and we must hold each other close as we close out the year next month.

Take care of ourself today, and every day after this. Give yourself the time to feel, to experience, to love, to embrace as we remember these thirty nine names, faces, lives, people, and the ones who came before us.

We say their names - and remember their stories

Dustin Parker.

Neulisa Luciano Ruiz.

Yampi Méndez Arocho.

Scott(lynn) Devore.

Monika Diamond.

Lexi Sutton.

Johanna Metzger.

Serena Angelique Velázquez Ramos.

Layla Pelaez Sánchez.

Penélope Díaz Ramírez.

Nina Pop.

Helle Jae O'Regan.

Tony McDade.

Dominique “Rem'mie” Fells.

Riah Milton.

Jayne Thompson.

Selena Reyes-Hernandez.

Brian “Egypt” Powers.

Brayla Stone.

Draya McCarty.

Tatiana Hall.

Merci Mack.

Shaki Peters.

Bree Black.

Summer Taylor.

Marilyn Cazares.

Dior H Ova.

Queasha D Hardy.

Aja Raquell Rhone-Spears.

Lea Rayshon Day.

Kee Sam.

Aerrion Burnett.

Mia Green.

Michelle Michellyn Ramos Vargas.

Felycya Harris.

Brooklyn Deshauna.

Sara Blackwood.

Angel Unique.

Yuni Carey.

We remember.

[ID 1: Dark blue background. White text lists the names of trans people killed in the U.S. in 2020, with dots between each name. A dark pink rectangle at the bottom frames white text reading “Trans Day of Remembrance.” The Trans Empowerment Project is in the bottom right corner.]

[ID 2: Square photos of seven of the trans people killed in the U.S. in 2020, framed in dark pink. There are two dark pink squares, one with white text reading “TDOR” in it and one with the TEP logo.]