Newark | Not in Our Town

Newark

“Regardless of whether she was Eddie or Gwen, she was still my kid.” —Sylvia Guerrero, Gwen Araujo’s mother Today is the International Transgender Day of Rememberance. Groups around the world are preparing marches, candlelight vigils and film screenings to memorialize transgender victims of hate crimes.  On this day, we remember Gwen Araujo, a transgender teen who was murdered in 2002. After Gwen was killed by local youth in the Silicon Valley suburb of Newark, high school students, residents and civic leaders respond, and in so doing, they struggle with how to deal with a brutal and preventable crime. Their efforts are captured in this 5-minute film: "Staging a Response to Hate" is part of Not In Our Town: Northern California. You can find the DVD and free educational guide here. To find a local remembrance event near you, visit http://www.transgenderdor.org/.
A Student Reflects On a Peer's Murder and His Community's Response By Jeff Bryant