On February 23, well over a thousand people converged at the historic Stonewall Inn to hold a rally opposing the Trump administration’s recent roll back of protections for transgender students.
The message of the rally was clear: people are prepared to stand together and fight for the transgender community and their basic human rights to be fully respected. The crowd was diverse with members from all walks of life coming out to show their support. Rainbow and transgender pride flags waved next to handmade signs with slogans written on them such as “Trans Is Beautiful” and “Schools Must Be Safe Spaces.”
Many speakers at the rally were trans individuals or their family members. One woman, Isabel Rose, had a very personal connection to the rally. Her daughter is an 8-year-old transgender girl, who if she lived in a different state could now be subject to cruel treatment from school officials. “I have a message for number 45,” Isabel told the crowd, referring to the sitting president. “There are a lot of things in this world that matter. Health care matters. Compassionate immigration laws matter. Environmental sustainability matters. Where students choose to relieve themselves does not matter!”
The event was sponsored and attended by many Democratic politicians and most speakers had a very moderate tone, but when some speakers used more radical language the crowd responded positively. It was a clear indication that the people making up this movement are becoming more open to moving beyond “respectable” tactics and language, and will do what is necessary to fight for themselves and other oppressed communities.
Youth lead the way
After the rally abruptly ended, activists, completely independent of the rally organizers, started speaking out to the crowd who were about to disperse and asked if they were prepared to march in solidarity with the trans community. Many eagerly answered the call and hundreds poured out into formation and started marching north.
The demographics shifted dramatically from the rally to the march. While the rally appeared to be composed of a majority of older white people, the march was almost exclusively young people, mostly representing oppressed communities and many with a personal stake in the matter. While the march spilled into the streets at times, police were eventually able to confine it to the sidewalk. But this did not deter protesters who were energetically shouting at the top of their lungs. Anyone in close vicinity could hear chants such as “Hey Hey! Ho Ho! Transphobia’s got to go!” as the the march passed. The protesters marched for almost 30 blocks before ending up at Macy’s Herald Square department store.
Speaking out against Trump
Hundreds poured into the shopping center still chanting, which left many staffers and shoppers in bewilderment. But they would soon hear why this crowd had entered. Activists formed a speakout where people talked about the issues they were protesting and the crowd used the “human microphone” by repeating their words to magnify their voices.
One speaker brought up the fact that Macy’s still carries Trump products which is why it was an important venue for them to speak in. Demands were made that Macy’s stop carrying Trump branded products and thus supporting someone who has now declared himself an enemy of the LGBTQ community.
Many speakers brought up important points not only about the issues that brought people to the rally, but many other issues that connect to this blossoming liberation movement including the mass incarceration system, immigration policy, worker exploitation and how they are all related.
Speakers inspired the crowd by expressing their commitment to fighting these injustices. Michael Basillas put it very bluntly by telling the crowd, “Voting for people’s rights left in the hands of fascists is beyond problematic. We can not live this way! Every person that condones the system that criminalizes and marginalizes my people, queer and trans people, cis or trans, Black, Brown or Indigenous as a commodity in this system I make this promise: I will shut you down!”
All speakers made it clear that all people needed to come together to fight back. “No matter if you’re Black or white, no matter if you’re gay or trans we all have a stake in fighting the Trump agenda. History is on our side, not on the side of fascism! It’s only when we unite and organize across all identities. We all need to be in the streets. We need a multinational revolutionary movement,” Monica Cruz of the Party for Socialism and Liberation declared. “If you aren’t part of an organization you need to join one!”
Committed to moving forward
After the speakout the crowd began marching and chanting again, just as energized as when they started. Later on many people lingered to connect with each other and discuss the situation we are facing and the best way to combat it. Everyone seemed to agree on one point: this is one of many battles and we need to come together and fight these issues at their root cause.
