Rita Hester

Rita Hester (30 November 1963^[1] – 28 November 1998) was a transgender African American woman who was murdered in Allston (Boston), Massachusetts, on November 28, 1998.^[2]

Hester was born in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1964. She moved to Boston in her early twenties and became involved in the local rock community.^[3]

Hester was murdered while at home on November 28th, 1998,^[4] being stabbed twenty times by an unknown assailant.^[3] In response to her murder, an outpouring of grief and anger led to a candlelight vigil held the following Friday (December 4th) in which about 250 people participated. The vigil was led by Rev. Irene Monroe.^[4] The community's struggle to see Rita's life and identity covered respectfully by local papers, including the Boston Herald and Bay Windows, was chronicled by Nancy Nangeroni.^[5] Her death also inspired the "Remembering Our Dead" web project and the Transgender Day of Remembrance,^[6] founded by Gwendolyn Ann Smith in 1999.

The city of Boston commissioned artist Rixy to paint a mural memorializing Hester in Allston.^[7] The mural was completed in July 2022.^[8]

The Hub of the Gay Universe: An LGBTQ History of Boston, Provincetown, and Beyond includes several quotes from people who knew her: “Rita Hester was statuesque and glamorous.  Usually clad in her favorite colors, black and purple, perhaps in a slinky tube dress adorned with ruffles, she was a familiar figure both at Allston bars such as the Model Cafe and the Silhoutte Lounge and at Jacque’s Cabaret.”  Another friend fondly remembered that Hester “liked to wear opera-length gloves with rings on top, big pieces of costume jewelry”. p.283