On Saturday, more than 1,000 people convened at City Hall to protest the rising tide of legislation targeting the trans and drag communities and other LGBTQ+ people across the U.S.
They painted signs, communed with loved ones, paid homage to the recently departed SF drag queen Heklina, and awaited a signal to begin their march to Union Square.
In Union Square, drag performers lit up the stage, drawing cheers and applause. Speakers shared powerful stories and a clear message. “I grew up in a time where I wasn’t only called a queer faggot, but also a spic, wetback and greaser. So today in San Francisco, this old cha-cha queen says, ‘Read my silicone lips.’ We are never, ever going back into that closet,” Nicole Murray Ramirez, an activist and San Diego human relations commissioner, told the energized crowd.
This wasn’t just a one-day event, it is part of a battle that LGBTQ+ people face everyday in a country that claims to champion equality and justice, but all too often falls short.
Gisselle Medina reports on education equity in Oakland and SF, and is pursuing a master’s degree at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism.