New Orleans trans community march honors trans resilience, promises to ‘Fight like hell’ for the living’

New Orleans, LA – On November 20, over 70 trans community members, their loved ones and friends gathered at Hunter’s Field park in the city’s seventh ward, for the 9th annual Trans March of Resilience, hosted by longtime Black trans organizers in The House of Tulip.

November 20 is recognized nationally as Trans Day of Remembrance, created in 1999 to honor the life of Rita Hester, a trans woman who was murdered in Massachusetts, and generally recognized by the community as a day to honor trans and queer siblings that have been lost.

Before the march, the community gathered to hear words from the march’s lead organizer, Milan Nicole Sherry, whose voice carried far in spite of the highway noise roaring overhead, “Some people think the underground railroad no longer exists, but our Black, trans, queer and nonbinary people have continued to utilize the underground railroad to this day,” she said, highlighting our communities’ continued history of resistance regardless of the circumstances.

Sherry continued “Now is the time to band together, pool our resources, and plan. I’m not gonna act as if we’re not going to keep doing our work, and that’s unfortunate for Donald Trump.”

After the speech, the community gathered behind banners honoring Trans Day of Remembrance and Resilience and took to the streets. They marched throughout nearby neighborhoods, holding trans and nonbinary flags, fans and signs asserting rights to bodily autonomy. These neighborhoods were chosen for the route because the march wanted to honor several oppressed nationality trans women whose lives were lost there, such as 26-year-old Ciara McElveen, who was brutally murdered in the neighborhood in 2017.

Marchers shouted chants of “Keep your laws out my drawers and thank you very much!” and “When trans lives are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!” as they made their way through winding neighborhoods. In spite of harassment from some passersby, spirits remained high throughout the march, with call and response song mixed in with chants.

After the march, the Queer and Trans Community Action Project (QTCAP) held a vigil at the park. A little over 40 attended, some staying from the march and some joining late. An altar with candles was constructed, listing the names and photos of transgender folks who were lost this year. Overhead, above the steps, a banner reading “Mourn the dead, fight like hell for the living!” was displayed.

Space was made for people to speak and honor those they’ve lost, but also talk about the fight ahead.

Quest Riggs, an organizer with QTCAP, stated, “Marsha P. Johnson and Silvia Riviera identified as revolutionaries, they identified with the Black Panthers who were facing political repression, they identified with the Vietnamese who were facing a genocidal war. Today trans people in America – we’re making the connection to Palestine. We see people who are being slaughtered and fighting back in the face of being slaughtered and we can connect with that.”

Juleea Berthelot of LUNO Students for a Democratic Society told the crowd, “Our fight does not end with remembering the names of those lost, we honor them by continuing the work of liberation. Let tonight remind us that we are powerful, we are survivors, that we are worthy of more than just remembrance, we are worthy of freedom!”

Several community members continued to come up to the mic to reflect and honor the community, and the crowd ended the night with a song honoring the fighting call of our ancestors.

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