Black Trans Lives Matter Rally Planned for Downtown Jacksonville

Jacksonville, FL. — A local organization is holding a Black Trans Lives Matter Inclusivity Rally tomorrow in downtown Jacksonville.

The event is set for Tuesday, September 29 at 6:00 p.m. at the Duval County Courthouse.

Organizers plan to ask attendees to follow social distance guidelines.

The event will feature keynote speakers Angelica Sanchez, Jazell Barbie Royall and Tyree Williams.

Jacksonville got national attention when three Black Transgendered women were killed in 2018.  

The Human Rights Campaign tracks violence against the transgender and gender non-conforming people and reports, “2020 has already seen at least 27 transgender or gender non-conforming people fatally shot or killed by other violent means, the majority of which were Black and Latinx transgender women.”

The HRC noted some of the victims were in Florida, including Tony McDade in Tallahassee. 

One of the local rally organizers and founder of the Transgender Awareness Project, Inc., Paige Mahogany Parks said there has been continued deadly violence against Black trans people across the country during the social unrest following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Parks says the killings of trans people have not gotten the attention they deserve.

Parks said, “We are asking do all Black lives matter or do we just pick who the most popular at the time? We are Black and Trans and our lives do matter, regardless what anyone says.”

The public is invited to attend.  

The group is also collecting donations for the Black Lives Matter Trans Inclusive Fund. For more information or to donate visit www.unspokensociety.org

Cox Media Group