'We do exist': Transgender rights activists fight back amid Trump orders
Executive orders and Trump administration policies suggest otherwise, but on Monday in a park in Midtown Detroit, a metro Detroiter named Adrian Lupkiewich sought to make one thing clear about his identity as a transgender person: 'We do exist.'
On the Transgender Day of Visibility — an annual recognition on March 31 that a Michigan psychotherapist is credited with founding — about 30 people gathered at the Woodward | Warren Park at Wayne State University for a rally and march organized by the activist group known as BAMN.
The shortened name of the group is derived from the last four words of its fuller title, Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, Integration, and Immigrant Rights and Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary.
The gathering sought to bring visibility to community members and other areas of concern at a key time. Since taking office in January, President Donald Trump has taken swift action on immigration and diversity efforts but has also keenly targeted the transgender community.
He has declared that there are only two sexes — male and female — and reinstated a ban on transgender troops joining the military. He has also taken action to keep entities with federal funding from allowing transgender athletes in women's and girls sports. He has also sought to stop youth gender-affirming care.
Lupkiewich, 23, of Fraser, was among those who fought back on Monday, saying not only do transgender people exist, but 'we always have and we always will.'
Being transgender saved Lupkiewich's life and gave him life and purpose, he said.
Women and men obviously still exist, but there needs to be room for more, he told the Free Press. He added that the only other key day recognizing transgender people is the day that remembers all those killed by anti-transgender violence, the Transgender Day of Remembrance in the fall.
He also said that attacks on the transgender community will have ripple effects on other groups of people.
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Lupkiewich's partner, Oliver Webb, 21, of Fraser, said the visibility is important, as it speaks to other people's self-expression, too.
'To prove the fact that other people can be visible, too,' Webb said.
Webb wanted people to know that they aren't alone.
Even at the small gathering, group members found themselves up against someone calling them 'crazy' while videotaping them. Anton Daniels, 42, of Detroit, had a back-and-forth with several members of the group, who questioned why he had even come to the gathering.
Neal and Kay Brannan, 51, and 38, of Bloomfield Hills, came with their 5-year-old daughter, Lydia, who ran a little ahead as the rally turned into a march down the sidewalks of Woodward Avenue. Kay Brannan identifies as nonbinary but said that doesn't affect their family much as they married a man.
Still, their daughter needs to be exposed to the issues they are fighting for, said Kay Brannan, wearing a keffiyeh, a scarf that has become a symbol of Palestinians.
'The world isn't a fair place and sometimes you have to go out and spend a day doing something to make sure that the people whose voices need to be heard are heard,' Kay Brannan said.
Speakers at the rally also raised concerns regarding the humanitarian issues in Gaza and the actions of Israel amid the Israel-Hamas war. They also touched on concerns with capitalism, attacks on immigrants, and more.
The march continued down Woodward and eventually made its way back to the park with smaller numbers in the end. Members shouted chants along the way, including that Detroit welcomes transgender youths.
The Brannan family peeled off early, but still about 20 minutes from their initial starting spot and around a boulevard named for one of the most prolific activists of all time, Martin Luther King Jr.
'This is why we should be proud of having a democracy because we get to show up and say stuff and defend people who aren't us,' Kay Brannan said.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Transgender rights activists rally in Detroit amid Trump orders
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