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1998: On November 28, 1998 a transgender African American woman named Rita Hester was murdered in Allston, MA. The outpouring of grief and anger over her death inspired the founding of the International Transgender Day of Rememberance. The background image in this piece is from one of these vigils.
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Mini-commentary by Kittredge Cherry:
Jesus’ death on the cross is boldly identified with the murder of Rita Hester, an African American transgender woman. A banner carried by people today stretches across Jesus on the cross: “How many transgenders have to die before you get involved?”
Another high-profile transgender murder victim was transman Brandon Teena, subject of the movie “Boys Don’t Cry,” who was killed in 1993. The list of unlawfully killed transgender people is long and still growing. Jesus said, “Whatever you do to the least of these, you do to me.”
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“Stations of the Cross: The Struggle for LGBT Equality” is a new set of 14 paintings that link the crucifixion of Jesus with the history of LGBT people.
Artist Mary Button painted the LGBT Stations series for Believe Out Loud, an online network empowering Christians to work for LGBT equality. They invite churches and faith groups to download and use the images for free.
The whole series will also be shown here at the Jesus in Love Blog this week. Click here for an overview of the LGBT Stations by Kittredge Cherry, lesbian Christian author and art historian.