Dozens of local advocates gathered at Boston City Hall Wednesday for a day of action ahead of the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance.
Events included a reception, speed networking, awards and speeches. Attendees also filed into the City Council chambers to show support for a vote to establish a community advisory council to the Boston Mayor’s Office of LGBTQIAS2+ Advancement.
Several attendees emphasized that Trans Day of Remembrance serves both as an opportunity to memorialize people lost to violence and for the community to express solidarity. Jamaica Plain resident and executive director of the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition Tre’Andre Valentine said the day is “a space to essentially offer love.”
“To me, Trans Day of Remembrance essentially boils down to a love,” Valentine said. “Holding space for love. Love of self, love of community, love for the people that we’ve lost, even though we may not directly know them.”
Boston native Charisse Sebastian said the day is about remembering people “that have passed because of violence, because of ignorance, because of arrogance.”
The annual commemoration was inspired by the murder of Boston’s own Rita Hester. She was stabbed in her apartment in 1998, and the case remains unsolved.
“We remind the public that anyone with any information or a tip, no matter how small, should contact the department and use the Crimestoppers tip line, which is 100% anonymous,” Sgt. Det. John Boyle, the Boston police department’s chief spokesman, told GBH News. “It remains a very active case and we haven’t forgotten about it.”
At the City Hall day of action, Chastity Bowick, a Boston resident and the executive director of the transgender advocacy nonprofit the Marsha P. Johnson Institute, said she wants to see more protections put in place for transgender people.
“This is deplorable, that we are the only community that has to hold such an event because the numbers are so drastic,” she said. “As a Black transgender woman, I could be next.”
When the group convened in City Council chambers, Bowick and transgender rights advocate Giselle Byrd addressed the room, calling on the councilors to commit to concrete actions and not merely “performative victory that the city loves to parade.”
“While other cities debate and delay, while some choose silence in the face of hatred, Boston can choose something different today,” Bowick said in her speech to councillors. “You have the power to make Boston not just a sanctuary, but a model,. Not just a safe harbor, but a lighthouse, showing other cities the way forward.”
The Boston City Council vote at hand was to codify the relationship between the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQIA2S+ Advancement and community activists, establishing an open-membership community advisory council and an appointed steering committee that will meet monthly and provide feedback to city officials.
Jullieanne Lee, executive director of Mayor’s Office of LGBTQIA2S+ Advancement, said local advocates have already offered valuable guidance on where to focus their efforts. The community advisory council, she said, will add structure to the office’s existing relationship with LGBTQ+ organizers.
“We know that housing and access to emergency assistance, as well as identity and documentation assistance, uplifting awareness of our community are the top priorities,” Lee said.
In her comments to City Council, Byrd discussed death threats she received as a result of her appointment to the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women.
“‘Nothing a rope and a tree can’t fix’ was one of the comments in response [to my appointment]. It remains fixated in my mind,” she said. “As a commissioner, I have dedicated many volunteer hours to ensure that all women and girls across this commonwealth have access to the tools and resources they need to help them lead thriving and abundant lives.”
Byrd continued her speech with the names of four transgender women who died by violence — Rita Hester, Chanelle Pickett, Marsha P. Johnson, and Miss Major Griffin-Gracy — saying “their spirit is still here.”
“Let us not be distracted by how we must rally behind one another, support one another, and recognize that the enemy cannot be the person sitting next to you,” Byrd concluded.
The vote passed with unanimous City Council support.
Sebastian said she hopes that trans youth feel supported, adding that she would urge them to “ignore” their limits.
“There’s lots of support out there, there’s lots of people that want to help,” she said. “There’s lots of people that care about you. Don’t be afraid to reach out. Stay strong.”
Also on Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Ed Markey introduced a bill into the Senate that would protect access to gender-affirming healthcare, containing explicit provisions on expanding access to rural and community health centers and bolstering medical education with relevant training.
In her speech to Boston City Council, Byrd also touched on the issue of healthcare. She expressed frustration at local provider Fenway Health’s October pause in prescribing hormones and puberty blockers to patients under the age of 19, which followed a change in federal requirements.
“We should not have our major institutions backing down from trans youth, the most fragile, in a time when they are of need. So Fenway Health, that was for you,” Byrd said.
Fenway Health spokesperson Chris Viveiros wrote in a statement that “Fenway is still able to provide all other care and services for trans and gender diverse people under the age of 19 as well as patients of all ages, identities and backgrounds.”
“We recognize that many in our community are deeply concerned about this issue and we are committed to listening, learning, and moving forward together through open, ongoing dialogue,” he added. “We know this work can only move forward in partnership: with our patients, our staff, our volunteers, and the many community organizations and advocates who push all of us to be our best.”
