This service is in recognition of the Transgender Day of Remembrance, or TDOR, which was first held in 1999. That initial observance was a vigil held in response to the tragic 1998 murder of Rita Hester, an outspoken transgender woman from Boston. It also commemorated all those who were killed due to anti-transgender violence and those transgender individuals who committed suicide that year. Now an annual observance, TDOR has become an international event, with services of remembrance happening around the globe.