Washington Square Park Trans Rights March Attracts Hundreds

Hundreds of people marched for social and economic rights for trans and gender non-conforming people (TGNC) of all races and ethnicities Friday afternoon in the West Village in what was named the 12th annual Trans Day of Action.

A handful of local organizations and allies of the movement held signs. Signs said, “Trans rights are human rights,” “Solidarity with Orlando!” “F**k the cis-tem,” and “Stop killing us!”

After the rally and introduction by Audre Lorde Project, the organization behind the event, the marchers lined up under the Washington Square arch at around 4 p.m. They walked west on Washington Square North Street, turned right on to Sixth Avenue and turned left on Greenwich Avenue. The crowd spanned the length of Greenwich Avenue from the Christopher Sheridan Square subway stop to Sixth Avenue.

The marchers chanted, “Hey hey! Ho ho! Transphobia has got to go!” “We’re here, we’re trans, we’re fabulous, don’t f**k with us!” and “Go justice, go peace, no transphobic police!”

“For so many years historically the T in LGBT has been silent,” said LaLa Zannell, community organizer at the New York City Anti-Violence Project and participant in the march. “A day like today is a day that a person that is trans, gender nonconforming can be loud and apologetic and be vocal and be revolutionary - for someone who may have never left their home.”

Zannell, a gender non-conforming person, said she doesn’t leave home often because she doesn’t feel safe in a lot of places in New York City. “I work, I come home, I go in certain places in the community, that's it,” Zannell said. “I don’t like the trains, they give me anxiety all the time. I don’t like the streets, I’m always being street harassed or heckled at or sexualized.”

She said Manhattan is safer for trans and gender nonconforming people than other boroughs. She added the acceptance in Manhattan should be harnessed and brought to Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx, where violence against transgender people is thought to be more pervasive.

Community member Elizabeth Marie Rivera who attended the march Friday said it was hurtful to see much of the country’s reaction to the mass shooting in Orlando last Sunday. According to her, many people immediately glanced over gays and went to guns. Instead of realizing the dangers of living as a member of the LGBT community, she said, people galvanized in favor of gun control and swept LGBT issues under the rug. “They’re forgetting about the LGBT lives, they’re forgetting about the Latinx lives. When we reach out, the reaction is always silence,” she said.

National interest in transgender rights has become more focused after the U.S. Department of Education issued a guidance letter in May telling schools to allow transgender students to use the bathrooms that corresponded with their gender identity. Eleven states filed a lawsuit against the guidance, arguing the government had acted beyond its powers.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo passed an executive order of transgender rights in October 2015 that gave all New York state workers protection against bias in stores, hospitals, housing, educational facilities and other public establishments. At the beginning of June, New York City launched an ad campaign starring New Yorkers who are transgender and encouraging people to “use the restroom consistent with who you are.”