During the final game of the World Series, trans activists made an important statement. During the fifth inning of the fifth game between the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers, a group unfurled a banner that read, “Trans People Deserve to Live.” Though the 20-foot by 15-foot banner, created by TransLatin@ Coalition, was quickly removed, it made a big impact.
“I felt my heart was dropping along with it,” Bamby Salcedo, the president of the group, told Into. “I was kind of exploding because of the adrenaline. You don’t know what’s going to happen with the police and security and all of that.”
TransLatin@ Coalition, a Los Angeles-based organization, fights for the rights of the transgender community. The banner came a week after The New York Times reported that the Trump Administration seeks to define gender through a narrow confine, essentially defining transgender “out of existence.”
The action is just one way that TransLatin@ Coalition has stood up for its community. Founded in 2009, the organization works to give a voice to trans Latinxs in the United States. “The vision of TransLatin@ Coalition is to amplify education and resources to promote the empowerment of Trans leaders,” the site’s About Us page reads.
TransLatin@ Coalition offers several services in LA, including daily food distribution, leadership development, support to trans immigrants who have been detained in immigrant detention, ESL classes, and more. “Advocacy is a key component to our organization,” according to the site. “We focus on addressing the needs and issues of our community by working with local and national organizations and political groups to change the landscape and livelihood [of] trans people.” The organization is able to do a lot of important work with the help of donors. (You can donate here.)
Salcedo, board chair Maria Roman, and other activists only went to the game to unfurl the banner. Bamby hopes their protest will inspire others. “I hope that this action will motivate members of the trans community, our allies and our comrades to really activate and to really understand that we have power,” she told Into. “We can demonstrate our power anywhere and everywhere.”
