Activists March Into 2021 at Stonewall
DONNA ACETO
DONNA ACETO
Organizer Joel Rivera delivers messages to fellow demonstrators during a march following a New Year’s Eve celebration at the Stonewall Inn.
Qween Jean was one of the lead organizers of the New Year’s Eve event at the Stonewall Inn.
DONNA ACETO
The community danced their way into 2021 before marching through the streets of Manhattan.
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BY MATT TRACY
Surrounded by Rainbow
Flags and Trans Flags, local
LGBTQ activists held a New
Year’s Eve celebration, rally,
and march that started at the Stonewall
Inn and proceeded through the
streets of Manhattan during the early
morning hours of New Year’s Day.
The event — dubbed “Last Ball of
2020” — attracted dozens of revelers
who joined together for speeches underscoring
a message of Black trans
liberation and sent a reminder to the
general public that Black trans lives
matter. Organizers Qween Jean and
Joel Rivera, who led numerous demonstrations
down the stretch in 2020,
were again leading the way as they
closed out a tumultuous year and
ushered the community into 2021.
Demonstrators at the event held
signs paying tribute to individuals
such as Layleen Polanco, an out
transgender woman who was left
alone as she died in solitary confi
nement at Rikers Island in 2019,
and the late Casey Goodson, Jr., a
22-year-old Black man who was
killed by a police offi cer late last year
in Ohio. Some in the crowd had their
own musical instruments, including
a drummer who had the words
“Black Lives Matter” scrawled on a
bass drum.
After a jubilant celebration and
emotional speeches at Stonewall, individuals
then marched along West
Fourth Street to Sixth Avenue.
January 14 - January 27, 2 18 021 | GayCityNews.com
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