YOUTH
Brooklyn Liberation March
Brings Attention to Trans Youth
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Joel Rivera and Qween Jean lead the way.
Like last year, folks were asked to wear white at the Brooklyn Liberation march and rally.
The lively atmosphere on the ground.
Attendees stand in solidarity with trans youth.
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BY MATT TRACY
For a second consecutive year,
a large crowd of people donning
white shirts marched
in the historic Brooklyn
Liberation demonstration — and this
time the focus was placed squarely
on transgender youth.
The June 13 event kicked off at
Brooklyn Museum before continuing
through the streets of Brooklyn,
where folks set out to match the energy
that was on display one year
ago. Signs encouraged individuals to
do their part to support transgender
youth.
The spotlight on trans youth
seemed inevitable during a year
when Republican-led State Legislatures
across the nation have sought
to ban trans youth from participating
in sports, curtail healthcare
rights, and reactivate campaigns to
impose transphobic bathroom policies.
Last year’s record levels of deadly
violence against transgender, gender
non-conforming, and non-binary individuals
is continuing into this year,
with more than two dozen individuals
suffering violent deaths so far in
2021.
Organizers described the event
with a sense of urgency, calling it a
“state of emergency” for trans youth,
but it also served as a platform for the
community to stand for other intersectional
issues impacting transgender
individuals as well as the broader
LGBTQ community.
Some of the leaders participating
in the event included Qween
Jean and Joel Rivera, who have
spearheaded the weekly Stonewall
Protests dating back to last summer.
Those marches have sought to
bring attention to the violence facing
transgender Americans across
the country.
According to fl yers, the event was
intended to help support the Stonewall
Protests, as well as the Gworls,
an organization that raises money to
assist Black transgender people with
housing; the Black Excellence Collective;
Trans Lifeline; and Magic City
Acceptance Center, a space for LGBTQ
children in Birmingham, Alabama.
June 17 - June 23, 2 10 021 | GayCityNews.com
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