Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube

“We Need to Make a Change”: Trans Youth Speak Out and Walk Out

The following is a speech by a student activist from NYC for Trans Rights.

Alex Carroll

March 10, 2023
Facebook Twitter Share

On Thursday, March 9, dozens of trans youth walked out of their high schools in New York City to demand an end to anti-trans laws and to say that trans lives matter. They marched through the streets of New York City chanting “Trans lives matter,” “Queers don’t deny, Stonewall was a riot,” and more. The action ended with a speak-out by over a dozen youth who talked about the need to struggle for trans rights and to fight anti-trans rhetoric and legislation. The action was organized by NYC Youth for Trans Rights. Nurses from NYSNA attended, standing in solidarity with trans youth, as well as teachers from the MORE caucus in New York City.

Left Voice is publishing speeches by student activists about the fight for trans rights. If you are a trans youth who would like to publish a speech or an article, please contact us on Instagram or Facebook, or by emailing [email protected]

I wanna thank everyone for coming here today, for calling out of school, for walking out, for not going to work. Thank you for coming here to support this. Thank you to Raven and Celio for supporting and helping me with this whole event, and thank you to all of the volunteers. I couldn’t have done any of this without you; without you, this event probably wouldn’t have happened. Thank you to Left Voice for supporting us and helping us find organizations and being so kind. And thank you to the nurses union for supporting us as well.

I come here today to tell you that we love you — we care about you, and we want you to be OK. No matter your gender identity, no matter your pronouns, you deserve the same opportunities as everyone else. You deserve to feel just as loved and cared for as cis people. And I’m sorry if people don’t respect you, if they don’t respect your identity. You’re too good for them to treat you like that.

I come here today to tell you that the anti-trans bills that are being put out are not OK. I come here to tell you that the suicide rates for trans people being 32 percent to 50 percent is not OK. I come here as a big FUCK YOU to all the states that keep putting out bills to oppress us, as a big fuck you to all of the politicians who continue to attack our trans youth and make it harder for them to get the gender-affirming care they need to live happily. I come here to say fuck you to the police for not protecting us.

I’m sick and tired of living in a world where we trans people are seen as less than human. We need to make a change, and we need to make it soon. If we don’t, I’m positive this is going to continue to happen.

Trans people are normal.

Facebook Twitter Share

Gender & Sexuality

“We are your economy”: Trans Youth Walkout and Speak Out

The following is a speech by a young trans person as part of an action called for by NYC Youth for Trans Rights.

Tatiana Cozzarelli

March 20, 2023
Mexican president AMLO on the left with the female members of his cabinet. International Women's Day protesters on the right.

President AMLO’s Government Is Not Feminist

On March 8, Mexican president AMLO spoke cynically of his commitment to feminism. But the fight against gendered violence, militarization, and labor precarity will be fought by the masses, not the so-called “progressive” government in Mexico.

Barbara Funes

March 13, 2023
A sign drawn on a small whiteboard, in trans pride colors. Text: "CUNY Graduate Center and Professional Schools Workers for Trans Rights" Beneath the text is a chain of 9 smiling stick figures in different colors, all holding hands

CUNY Union Chapter Unanimously Passes Resolution in Support of Trans Rights

The Graduate Center chapter of PSC-CUNY, the faculty, staff, and graduate worker union of the City University of New York, passed a resolution pledging support to all workers fighting the anti-trans bills nationwide.

Olivia Wood

March 12, 2023

“We Won’t Go Down Without a Fight”: Trans Youth Walkout and Speak Out

The following is a speech by a student activist from NYC Youth for Trans Rights.

Raven Benjamin

March 11, 2023

MOST RECENT

Three tables full of food, with signs hung above them. One says "The People's Pantry: FREE FOOD." Banners hung from the tables say "Free CUNY" and "Cop Free School Zone"

CUNY Administration Cracks Down on Student and Worker-Run Food Pantry

Students and workers opened "The People's Pantry" seven weeks ago as part of a broader anti-austerity campaign at CUNY, leading to several direct confrontations with the administration.

Olivia Wood

March 19, 2023

Neither NATO Nor Putin: An Anti-war Program for an Anti-war Protest

The following is a flier that Left Voice distributed at the March 18 rally in DC with the anti-war program we believe we must all take up.

Left Voice

March 19, 2023

France: Macron Bets On His Presidency as Millions Rise Up

A historic two weeks of mobilizations against Macron’s pension reform, with several sectors going into open-ended strikes, and including a spectacular show of solidarity on International Women’s Day. Yet despite the massive turnout, the government pushed through the reform Thursday night, using an antidemocratic maneuver to bypass the National Assembly. Which direction will the movement take? Will it fizzle out in a failed top-down union strategy, or will it generalize the struggle to all sectors from the bottom up?

Antoine Ramboz

March 17, 2023

Temple’s Grad Worker Strike Ends with Important Victories 

The last report on the strike from a union teacher at Temple University in Philadelphia.

Jason Koslowski

March 17, 2023