On the evening of February 5, 2015, nearly 100 transgender activists led by Bamby Salcedo commandeered the stage at Creating Change, the National LGBTQ Task Force annual event that provides a forum for community activists across the United States. Salcedo, President of Coalicion Translatina, led activists in a protest of the shooting death of Jessica Hernandez by Denver police. Hernandez was a member of the LGBT community.
The transgender activists also were demanding increased support from the LGBT community in general to aid in their quest for equality. While there were several demands made from the stage by Salcedo, all coalesced around the statement “We are here demanding intentional, meaningful investment in our community.” Trans activists and supporters chanted “We are fighters.” The protesters were calling LGBT organizations to task for a perceived lack of investment in the trans community.
While the tweets from some leaders at the event linked the protest to the decision by Denver Mayor, African American Michael Hancock, not to adddress the event as scheduled, those tweets have been disputed by other activists at the event. Reputedly, Hancock had cancelled the day before and the National LGBTQ Task Force is now being questioned about the timeline of events. One activist source suggested “This may be a little bit of political theatre, while the protest was real; there is a question whether that is the reason the mayor did not address the event.” The Denver mayor just kicked off his reelection campaign three days ago.
In a move that suggested that leaders of the event knew about the protest, former San Diegan and Deputy Director of the Task Force Russell Roybal thanked the protestors for their demonstration. On the heels of the protest was a panel that discussed police brutality and the killing of Michael Brown in St. Louis. Given the relationship of the two activities, some suggested that the demonstration and panel were orchestrated. In addition, those accepting the Sarria Award for uncommon leadership for their involvement in the Michael Brown protests read the names of 12 transgender activists killed last year.
