Transgender Day of Remembrance: Even Just One Flag is Too Many Thank you Jake Boyle for being a shining example of living the Subaru Love Promise
Mark Miller Subaru provided lunch to the volunteers who helped set up and takedown the installation located in Salt Lake City.
Our BDC Manager Jake Boyle and his family took the time to manage and help with set up.
We at Mark Miller Subaru have a commitment to celebrating and championing Diversity in our community through the incredible work of our employees.
Learn more about those who have been lost
Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDoR) occurs each year on November 20th to honor the lives lost the prior year to transphobic violence and suicide. To help raise awareness and honor the lives lost, a somber display of Transgender Pride flags is created at Washington Square Park in Salt Lake City each year. The flags are on display for the entire week, Transgender Awareness Week, leading up to TDoR. It takes more than a dozen volunteers more than seven hours to erect the display featuring more than 400 flags, each representing a documented life lost during the last 12 months to transphobic violence or suicide. Accompanying each flag is the name, age, photo, and cause of death of the individual for which the flag hangs in reverence. With the support and encouragement of my employer, Mark Miller Subaru, I was able to co-chair Project Rainbow’s Steering Committee for set-up of this year’s memorial display. Our first volunteers arrived at 8:30 AM to load supplies and materials from a storage unit into a moving truck and deliver them to the memorial site. Our last volunteers left after 4:00 PM after working tirelessly in the 30-degree weather. A warm catered lunch, provided by Mark Miller Subaru, was a more than welcomed break allowing volunteers to rest, warm up, and continue on. Mark Miller Subaru has a strong commitment to diversity, inclusion, and equality for all. Their website states “As a growing business, our goal is to partner with local nonprofits [such as Project Rainbow] to make our world a more just and diverse place and learn from their expertise on ways to continually align our values with our actions. From our staff to our customers and beyond, Mark Miller Subaru is PROUD to support our LGBTQ+ community through our actions, partnerships, and philanthropy. When it comes to embracing diversity, equity and inclusion, we strive to leave our MARK!” One flag was of particular importance to me personally. My best friend lost his only child, his transgender daughter, to suicide in March of this year. Her name, photo, and story hangs alongside one of the flags. One of far too many flags.
