State and city lawmakers joined LGBTQ advocates on the steps of the Tweed Courthouse in lower Manhattan on Sept. 30 in a show of support for trans rights after the Trump administration announced it would slash tens of millions in funding for the city over trans-inclusive policies.
The rally, held on the steps of the Tweed Courthouse — which is home to the city’s Department of Education — also directed criticism towards Mayor Eric Adams, who drew outrage earlier in the month when he repeatedly criticized the city’s trans-inclusive bathroom policies.
“The Trump administration can try to blackmail us, they can try to starve our schools of funding, but we will not cower or bend before them,” said Councilmember Tiffany Cabán, who co-chairs the LGBTQIA+ Caucus.
The Trump administration sent letters demanding that New York City and other school districts rescind policies protecting transgender individuals by Sept. 23. When that deadline came and went, the White House said it would cut about $36 million in total funding for Magnet Schools Assistance Program funding in New York City alone, though cuts were also made to school districts in Chicago, Illinois, and Fairfax, Virginia.
“When trans kids are under attack, what do we do?” Cabán asked, prompting the crowd to shout, “Stand up, fight, back!”
Mimi Shelton, a board member at Trans formative Schools, a free afterschool program designed for trans, queer, non-binary, and gender-expansive students, said the president’s decision to withhold education funding “is unconscionable and cruel.”
“Stripping transgender and gender-expansive youth and adults of their dignity and opportunity to exist in public life only works to make transgender students more unsafe in public schools, making them subject to physical and verbal violence, social isolation, and in worst cases, suicidality and self-harm,” Shelton said.
Kei Williams, the executive director of the statewide LGBTQ organization New Pride Agenda, said, “We are here because this moment demands direct action.”
“We are here because we want no delays and we want no excuses,” Williams said. “We are here because equity is not negotiable, and we know we cannot give an inch on our values. We are here because our classroom, our young people, our teachers, and our communities deserve safety, affirmation, and opportunity.”
Melissa Sklarz, the executive vice president of Stonewall Democratic Club of New York City and the first out trans person to win public office in New York State, criticized Mayor Adams’ recent comments against inclusion in school bathrooms.
“He’s wrong, he’s misguided, and he does not know what he’s talking about,” Sklarz said, before adding: “Donald Trump doesn’t know the difference between transgender and transmission.”
Councilmember Erik Bottcher, who serves alongside Cabán as a co-chair of the LGBTQIA+ Caucus, also expressed his support for trans-inclusive policies and reiterated a point he has previously made about the importance of gay and lesbian individuals standing in solidarity with trans community members during a time of great adversity.
During Bottcher’s remarks, however, he was interrupted by a heckler who accused the lawmaker of “lying” when he sought to debunk the false arguments that men are “putting on dresses just to get into women’s rooms.”
“That is not happening,” Bottcher said, prompting the heckler to interrupt him, saying, “Yes it is. Yes it is, man… You’re lying right now, bro. Erik, you’re lying right now.” The heckler left the scene seconds later.
“We’re going to keep fighting,” Bottcher said, “and one day, we’re going to look back at this fight and reflect on how we won this fight when it’s in the rear-view mirror.”
Other out state lawmakers also delivered remarks, including Assemblymembers Jessica González-Rojas, Tony Simone, and Deborah Glick. Out State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal, who helped usher in comprehensive non-discrimination protections on the basis of gender identity when he was the lead sponsor of the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act, reminded everyone of the layers of protections in place in New York State.
“Let’s be clear: What the mayor suggested last week and what the Trump administration is pursuing and what Moms of Liberty and some extremely misguided members of our own community… are suggesting is patently illegal under New York State law,” said Hoylman-Sigal, who is the Democratic nominee for Manhattan borough president.
He added: “So Donald Trump, Eric Adams, Moms of Liberty: You’re not only dead wrong morally, but you’re wrong on the law, and we’re going to stand here as a community — not divided, but united.”
The event also drew a citywide official, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, who invoked his personal identity as he emphasized that there have never been any issues or complaints in the years since the City Council voted to implement inclusive bathroom policies.
“I always try to be honest because my message… is for those like me who are Black men, who are men of faith, who are from the Caribbean,” the public advocate said. “I always try to be honest about my own journey so I can ask people to join the journey with me.”
He added: “As a Black man, as a person of a Caribbean background, and of faith, I want the trans community to know, as public advocate, I stand with you. I will do everything I can to protect you, because if any one group is not protected, none of us are protected.”
The event, dubbed the “No Hate in NYC Schools” rally, was organized by New Pride Agenda, PFLAG-NYC, Trans Formative Schools, and the Education Consortium Council.
