Following an attack on a trans person earlier last week, Capitol Hill’s LGBTQ community quickly sprang into action. Some 300 people joined a march, from 10 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. starting on Saturday, June 13, which met in Cal Anderson park and marched south on 10th avenue to hold a candlelight vigil to honor all of the trans victims slaughtered by ruthless transphobic bigots.
The march stopped in front of the Odd Fellows restaurant, the scene of the latest attack. Purportedly, some 20 people witnessed the attack but failed to come to the aid of the victim.
This march occurs following an ever-increasing trend of anti-LGBTQ hate crimes in Capitol Hill. One man this month stated he was attacked and pushed to the ground in broad daylight while walking on Broadway, Capitol Hill’s busiest street. The increase in queer-bashing is correlated with the gentrification of the historically gay Seattle neighborhood.
The march continued on going east on Pike, stopping at several bustling bars, some of which cater to the new, predominantly straight gentrifiers, or are traditionally gay bars now being overrun with homophobic patrons who harass the queer clientele. Protesters chanted: “We’re here, We’re queer, get used to it,” “2,4,6,8 now is time to stop the hate,” and “If you don’t like a gay neighborhood why did you move to one?”
The march took several laps around Pike and Pine Streets, Seattle’s most active scene for night life. At the very end of the protest, demonstrators took the whole lane on 10th and Pike and held a dance party where people chanted “Queer neighborhood, this is our Queer neighborhood!” The event was well received and made a strong impact on the community.
