Long Beach celebrated its first Trans Pride Day at Recreation Park on Saturday, Sept. 18.
“It was a way to celebrate specifically the trans community outside of the larger pride celebration,” said Joel Gemino of The LGBTQ Center Long Beach. “Because there is a central focus on trans identities and how they’re often even left out of the larger conversation.”
Throughout the event, multiple performers and advocates took the stage to entertain and address the crowd.
“I just want for you to hopefully understand the power that we have as people, as a community,” said Bamby Salcedo, president and CEO of the TransLatin@ Coalition. “And what we can do in order to create the changes that need to happen in order for us to transform the world that continues to say that we are not supposed to exist.”
According to Human Rights Campaign, 2020 was the deadliest year on record for transgender and gender-nonconforming people in the United States, with 44 people violently killed. So far in 2021, 36 transgender or gender-nonconforming people have been killed.
Overall, 50% of transgender people are sexually abused or assaulted at some point in their lives, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The TransLatin@ Coalition was among multiple community groups offering resources and services to attendees. The coalition provides assistance with crisis intervention, violence prevention, housing and more.
The TransLatin@ Coalition also runs the HOPE House, a transitional housing program for transgender, gender variant and intersex people.
“A majority of victims are either experiencing homelessness or have nowhere to go,” said Angelika Carrillo, the violence prevention services case manager for the TransLatin@ Coalition.
Carrillo guides victims of violence through filing police reports, obtaining restraining orders and court dates. She also provides victims with emotional support and teaches them how to advocate for themselves and others.
A 2015 survey conducted by the National Center for Transgender Equality found that 65% of transgender people experiencing homelessness reported being sexually assaulted at some point in their lives.
“Today we’re here to celebrate us. I want to invite you to celebrate you,” Salcedo told the crowd.
Trans Pride Day is expected to become an annual event in Long Beach going forward.
“This is the first of many more to come,” transgender advocate and organizer Mallery Robinson posted on Instagram.