Note: This article was updated to reflect a change in name.

Talia Keene has been protesting since she was 5 years old. 

In one of her earliest memories, she’s leading a chant in a crowd of people protesting the Iraq war.

In fourth grade, Keene’s family saved up what little money they had to fly to Washington, D.C., to protest the Bush administration’s involvement in the war. She still has a flag that reads “We the people stand united against the Bush administration” hung over her rainbow flag.

Protesting is a way of life for Keene. When something isn’t right, she goes out and fights for change.

In her junior year of high school, Keene formally came out as transgender.

Keene, a current University of Oregon junior,  is one of 1.4 million Americans who will be celebrating Trans Day of Remembrance, a day where trans individuals around the world come together to celebrate the community. For Keene, it is an opportunity to stand by her community in solidarity.

Junior year of high school was difficult to navigate for Keene. She didn’t feel safe enough to use the bathroom that corresponded with her gender identity. Some of her friends got beat up in school for using the bathroom that aligned with their gender identity, and two of Keene’s teachers went as far as preventing her from entering the “wrong” restroom because it would make others feel uncomfortable.

“We were at school for more than six hours, and we don’t feel comfortable using the bathroom,” Keene said. “Something needed to be done about it.”

On the first day of senior year, Keene decided she’d had enough. She marched into the principal’s office and demanded change. She worked with other queer students and allies to successfully produce change and ensure that different perspectives were heard. In the end, the gendered bathroom placards in her school were replaced with gender neutral ones.

For Keene, protesting is vital because it gives her queer community visibility and ensures they aren’t ignored.

Protesting doesn’t always mean staging sit-ins or leading large crowds in chants. When people have been denying and actively trying to erase the existence of trans people for centuries, being visible is a protest in itself.

“Trans people existing is a form of protest and when we have communities of trans people coming together, that’s particularly important,” Keene said. “We’re being visible together.”

Trans Day of Remembrance is a time when trans people come be visible together. The event occurs every year on Nov. 20 and, at the UO, it is the culmination of a week-long celebration hosted by United Front’s Trans Justice Campaign in partnership with various LGBTA3 groups on campus. This year, it’ll be hosted at The Atium in downtown Eugene.

The week-long celebration of trans identities begins on Nov. 13 and includes a trans fashion show and a clothing swap day. For Keene, having events like these makes the week a celebration of transgender lives instead of deaths.

On the years Keene feels mentally strong enough to attend the Trans Day of Remembrance vigil, she cooks. She spends the day making food to bring to the event because, for her, it’s important to make sure she is helping take care of her community.

For Keene, being there gives her a sense that, right then and there, everything is alright. She believes this is a demonstration of how her community can and will continue to fight alongside each other.

The vigil is a time for trans, gender non-binary people and allies to come together and remember the trans individuals that have died as a direct result of biased-driven violence.

Last year, 24 names were read. Keene expects the same number of names to be read this year.  

It is difficult to hear the names of people who were killed for simply living life as their true self, she said. But, in the end, it’s empowering to see trans individuals coming together to support each other through their hardships, said Keene.

“For me,” Keene said, “Trans Day of Remembrance is remembering those that we’ve lost, celebrating the lives that they’ve lived and a call to action to not let any others die because one more is too many.”