Watch: Crowds Show Up in Boston, New York, LA to Defend, Celebrate Black Trans Lives

Huge crowds filled the streets in Boston and New York City over the weekend to put the message across that "All Black Lives Matter" - including the lives of trans individuals.

The rallies took place in the wake of the Trump administration's jettisoning of an Obama era mandate that protected trans patients from discriminatory treatment both by medical professionals and insurance companies, noted Boston news outlet WBUR.

The announcement of that change coincided with the fourth anniversary of the Pulse nightclub shootings, the largest mass murder of LGBTQ people in modern times.

Trans people - especially transwomen of color - face such extremes of violence all too often. Even as anti-LGBTQ violence, like violence directed at many minority groups, has skyrocketed in the aftermath of the 2016 elections, transwomen of color have borne the brunt of lethal brutality.

The Human Rights Campaign tracks reported incidents of deadly anti-trans violence. Reports the HRC:

In 2019, advocates tracked at least 26 deaths of at least transgender or gender non-conforming people in the U.S. due to fatal violence, the majority of whom were Black transgender women.

The years immediately prior to 2019 presented similarly tragic tallies. 2020 seems on track to rival those record-setting years; the HRC noted that:

Sadly, 2020 has already seen at least 14 transgender or gender non-conforming people fatally shot or killed by other violent means. We say at least because too often these stories go unreported -- or misreported.

The weekend marches signaled a growing awareness of the problem, and a determination to fight back against it. Twitter users took video of the massive turnout in Brooklyn and in the greater Boston area of Jamaica Plain.

A massive turn out for the Black Trans Lives Matter protest in front of the Brooklyn Museum:
pic.twitter.com/qqbJ2IjINI– philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) June 14, 2020

The head of the Transgender Emergency Fund of Massachusetts, Chastity Bowick, told WBUR:

"This is not a Pride. Unfortunately, we're not celebrating happy things.

"So it's time to put your fighting face on, your fighting shoes on, and get ready to march."

In the spirit of recent protests precipitated by the death of George Floyd, an African American man who died in police custody in Minneapolis when a white officer, Derek Chauvin, kneeled on his neck for almost nine minutes, the rallies were well-attended despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. WBUR reported than many demonstrators were wearing face masks, which are crucial in preventing transmission of the virus in crowded conditions.

As concerned as members of the public might be about the pandemic, many seem to feel a more pressing need to get out and be heard.

Tre'Andre Valentine of the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition told WBUR:

"Even before the pandemic, we were dying. Even before the pandemic, police were brutalizing us, dehumanizing us.

"Pandemic or not, we're going to show up."

In New York, similar rallies were taking place. Reports NBC News:

A number of groups, including the Marsha P. Johnson Institute, The Okra Project and Black Trans Femmes in the Arts, co-organized Sunday's rally and march.

NBC News noted that:

The rally came just days after two Black transgender women were killed in Ohio and Pennsylvania, each of which is being investigated as a homicide.

One of those victims was found in the Schuylkill River, which passes through Philadelphia, NBC News reported. That body of that victim, Dominique "Rem'mie" Fells, had been mutilated, with both legs having been cut off.

A third massive rally took place in Los Angeles. Video of that rally was posted to YouTube by the Los Angeles Times. Text accompanying the video reported:

Thousands of protesters came out to a peaceful demonstration, with little police presence and no police involvement, a contrast to commercial events such as LA Pride.

As reported last week at EDGE, Christopher Street West, the group that organizes LA Pride, had initially been involved with plans for the weekend's All Black Lives Matter march, but had withdrawn from the event. A tweet on the LA Pride Twitter feed said:

We recognize implicit racism, systemic bias and privilege permeates this country, and this includes the history of our organization.

The tweet went on to add:

"The CSW Board Members who conceived the idea for the march began speaking with Black LGBTQ+ leaders and organizations in advance of the announcement, however, they had not been able to align directly with Black Lives Matter leaders prior to the announcement. For that, we apologize to the Black Lives Matter organizers."

Watch video of the Los Angeles All Black Lives Matter event below.