"REMEMBERING OUR DEAD" HONORED AT GLAAD AWARDS SAN FRANCISCO -- June 4, 2000 "Remembering Our Dead," a website dedicated to transgendered people who have died at the hands of another, was honored with a nomination for the prestigious Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) Media Awards, in the category of Outstanding GLBT Digital Media. Gwendolyn Ann Smith, creator of the site, was the guest of Gay.com at the awards ceremony in San Francisco on June 3, where the award was presented to Blackstripe.com. Smith knew it was going to be a special night from the beginning, when the first image shown during an opening montage of important queer images was a clip of Marsha P. Johnson, an early queer activist known as one of the instigators of the Stonewall Riots, and one of the over 200 names listed on the Remembering Our Dead website. "I was moved and touched to see my little work on a screen 20 or so feet wide in front of a ballroom of celebrities, officials and industry leaders," said Smith. "I realized that what started as a simple personal way to remember those who paid the ultimate price while simply living a transgendered life had made an impact on a wider culture. Seeing my work on that screen in that room, the names and lives of those special people shining out at us, reminded me again that one person can make a difference." Along with Blackstripe.com and Remembering Our Dead, Queernet, Blythe House Quarterly and Keanoo's Queer Asian Links were also nominated. "All the nominees are doing very good and important things, and I was proud to be among them," said Smith, "but the best thing was that sitting there front and center, I very much felt a part of the event. It was not just that I was seen, but that all of those lives I set out to remember were also seen, acknowledged and honored -- something that trans people often feel is denied them." "For me, Remembering Our Dead is not only about death, but about life. When we hear about the death of another we can either retreat and try to hide, or we can remember that life is precious and commit ourselves to make the most of the life we were given. I try to honor transgender lives, not simply transgender deaths, and for the members of GLAAD to see and acknowledge that was very moving." As one of four GLAAD award ceremonies -- other categories were honored in New York, Washington and Los Angeles -- the evening was full of glamour and sparkle. "Margaret Cho and I talked about what really matters in a queer movement and I had a very nice chat with Jeri Ryan from Star Trek: Voyager. I was greeted with a kiss from SF Supervisor Mark Leno, with whom I have worked with on a number of San Francisco projects, and spoke with Joan M. Garry, the executive director of GLAAD about the importance of trans-inclusion. Remembering Our Dead is supported by Gender Education Alliance (GEA), the GLBT Historical Society of Northern California, and by Fox Searchlight Pictures, who distributed the film Boys Don't Cry. "As I left the event, I was very pleased. Not only had I been recognized and honored with a nomination, but all the transgender lives included in Remembering Our Dead had also been in that room, no longer hidden, but still shining as bold, messy, complex and beautiful examples of what it means to be human in this world." Remembering Our Dead can be found at: http://www.gender.org/remember
	. . /\\//\ Gwendolyn Ann Smith * Community Host, Trans Gazebo > () < Board Member, GEA * Webmistress, TransBay \/()\/ Webmistress, SCCatl * Webmistress, Gender.org "I want this to be a harmony of voices" - Lauren D. Wilson
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