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Fridayโs Trans March might have been the biggest since it started in 2006. Thousands ended up clearing out of Dolores Park around 6 p.m. and marched down Dolores Street. But thatโs little surprise: People we spoke to said that it grows each year.
โEach year it gets bigger, and itโs filled with trans people โ not spectators,โ says Wiley, who has been coming to the march for the last seven years.
This year, however, for many of the thousands who marched, the event was as much about trans awareness as it was about the Trump Administrationโs immigration policies. โNo ICE, no KKK, no fascist USA!โ many chanted in unison as they marched along, carrying signs denouncing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, which is largely responsible for carrying out deportations.
Before the march, Victoria Castro, a case manager at El/La, which works exclusively with transgender Latinas, told Mission Local: โThe gay parade is like a party; our march is a political statement.โ
2:00 p.m.: Participants gather at Dolores Park, enjoying the sun and a rare opportunity to mingle with the greater Bay Area trans community. We spoke to people who came out from Berkeley and San Jose, as well as longtime participants and first-timers.
โIt is the one day of the year we can reclaim the park,โ said Camryn, whoโs been coming to the Trans March for the last nine years. โBefore it was gentrified, the park was a cruising ground. It is now the one day of the year where we can be present here.โ
Booker, who lives in San Jose, joined his friends at the Trans March for the first time this year. โItโs nice to see young people, because when I was that age I didnโt have a place to feel included,โ he said.
Nandi says she doesnโt always feel comfortable in San Francisco, so she treasures the Trans March. โItโs better than some places in the world,โ she said. โBut I donโt feel safe anywhere.โ She says sheโs still harassed, even in liberal San Francisco. โTrans places like this are really important because there arenโt trans spaces like there are gay spaces,โ she added.
Jennylee McKenzie, who is just shy of 50, transitioned in 2009, and has been coming to the Trans March in San Francisco since 2011. โItโs always important for me to come out โ if not for me, then some of the friends Iโve lost,โ she said. She said they succumbed to trans-related suicides. โItโs important, because they didnโt make it โ they didnโt get to realize the dream,โ she said. โI miss them a lot.โ
Late afternoon update (5:30):
6:00 p.m.: Marchers begin to clear out of the Dolores Park and march down Dolores Street. The crowd looks to be in the thousands. Asked for an estimate of the crowd size, a police officer at Dolores Park she said she didnโt know. โA lot,โ she said.
โIโm so happy to be able to be myself,โ said Julian, 27, who has been living in San Francisco for 10 years and came from Mexico.
โThere are trans Latinx people being deported,โ Zo said, explaining that some have made the journey for more acceptance. Zo and Amy were marching for those people. โI love them,โ Zo said.
Trans March 2018 from Mission Local on Vimeo.
6:45 p.m.: Marchers near Market Street from Dolores. Still thousands strong, the march passes out of the Mission.
River Gowenstone has been attending the Trans March since the โolden times,โ when it was just a handful of people on the sidewalk.โ โThis is wonderful,โ Gowenstone said of its current size.
Related coverage:
Pride takes over the city, and transgender activists focus on violence at the border, June 22, 2018.