Join the CUNY LGBTQI+ Council and the CUNY LGBTQIA+ Consortium for CUNY's Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) Vigil. This is a day to both uplift our community and remember and honor those whose lives were lost as a result of anti-transgender bigotry and violence, especially for transgender, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming folks of color.

This year's vigil will center Transgender and Nonbinary (TGNB) student voices through a panel discussion and a CUNY Student Art & Poetry Showcase.

This year's keynote speaker is Chanel Lopez - Deputy Director of LGBTQ+ Affairs with the Office of Governor Kathy Hochul

Free food and refreshments provided.

ASL interpriters present.

When: Thursday, November 21, 2023 | 6PM - 8PM
Where: Hybrid | Zoom + Elebash Recital Hall, The CUNY Graduate Center
(1st Floor) | 365 5th Ave, New York, NY 10016
RSVP: bit.ly/tdor24 or click here
Questions: email lgbtq@ccny.cuny.edu
Want to present during the CUNY Student Art & Poetry Showcase?: Please fill out our form at bit.ly/apstdor

See photos and videos from last year's vigil here and here.

Keynote Speaker: Chanel Lopez (she/her)

An advocate and activist for the transgender / gender non-conforming community for the past 14 years, she has done plus size modeling as well as some acting. Chanel International is a well-known public figure with in and out the community, she is known through her many years of hosting and entertaining around the club scene, special events and private events.

For many years Chanel Lopez worked at the “New York Anti Violence Project” with LGBTQ+ survivors of sexual and domestic violence, a position she held close to her heart being a survivor of sexual & domestic violence herself. She has had numerous documentaries done on her as well as receiving two “Certificate of Merits” by the Bronx Borough president, Ruben Diaz Junior. She was also the first trans woman to be honored by the organizers of the Dominican Parade with the “Trail Blazer Award”. She is also the title holder of two pageants: “Miss long Island 2010” & “Miss Fame Magazine 2016-2017”. Chanel was also the Transgender Community Liaison for the New York City Commission on Human Rights from 2019 to 2021.

Today, Chanel Jessica Lopez is the Deputy Director Of LGBTQ+ Affairs with the Office of Governor Kathy Hochul, making her the only openly trans women of color working for government. Chanel’s aspirations are to run for office either for “City Council” or “Public Advocate Speaker” and be recognized as an influential transgender leader.

Organized by the CUNY LGBTQI+ Council and the CUNY LGBTQIA+ Consortium members from the following CUNY schools: The Center for LGBTQ Studies at The CUNY Graduate Center, The CUNY Black Male Initiative, The CUNY Graduate School of Public Health & Health Policy, The CUNY Office of Student Inclusion Initatives, The CUNY School of Law, Hostos Community College, The LGBTQ+ Student Center and Gender Resources at The City College of New York, The Women's Center & LGBTQ+ Hub LaGuardia Community College, and The York College Women's Center for Gender Justice.

Co-sponsors: Inhale to Exhale,

This event is made possible due to generous funding from the NYC Council's LGBTQIA Caucus, the Office of the Mayor, and supported by the CUNY LGBTQIA+ Consortium through the LaGuardia and Wagner Archives.

This event will be recorded and archived at the LaGuardia and Wagner Archives.

About the CUNY LGBTQI+ Council
The CUNY LGBTQI+ Council is a CUNY-wide committee of faculty and staff dedicated to supporting the intersectional LGBTQI+ communities across the university system. Our mission is to ensure the visibility and inclusion of the entire spectrum of LGBTQI+ students, faculty and staff. We aim to be a collaborative resource to create connection and community, identify and troubleshoot gaps, increase representation, awareness, and equity. We are committed to leading with a social justice lens, offering support services and developing programs, events and opportunities for those who identify as LGBTQ+ or questioning.

About the CUNY LGBTQIA+ Consortium
The CUNY LGBTQIA+ Consortium makes and preserves LGBTQIA+ history at CUNY and NYC! We facilitate the archiving of LGBTQIA+ history across New York, and we support LGBTQIA+ training, education, and programming. The CUNY LGBTQIA+ Consortium began in the borough of Queens in 2017, and since that time we have expanded across all 5 boroughs.