Philly canceled its Trans Day of Visibility event this year, but will still fly flag at City Hall

While a transgender pride flag will be raised at City Hall on Thursday, it won’t be accompanied by its usual fanfare.

Celena Morrison-McLean, the executive director of the Philadelphia Office of LGBT Affairs, announced earlier this month that the city’s Annual Trans Day of Visibility flag-raising event will not be happening this year. The flag will still be raised on Thursday and remain through the weekend.

“Raising the Trans Flag at City Hall holds profound significance,” Morrison-McLean said in a public letter posted to the city’s website announcing the change. “It is a public declaration of our dedication to creating a more inclusive city that embraces diversity in all its forms.”

In a statement to The Inquirer, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s office and the Office of LGBT Affairs said the city made the change “due to a variety of logistical concerns.” The statement said the flag would still be raised “with the city of Philadelphia’s full and proud support.”

Trans Day of Visibility, observed annually on March 31, was created in 2010 by Rachel Crandall, a transgender advocate in Michigan. She wanted to create a day focused on empowering transgender people and acknowledging their fight against discrimination, according to GLAAD. The day is different from the Nov. 20 annual Trans Day of Remembrance, which honors transgender people killed by anti-trans violence.

Last year on March 31, hundreds of people gathered in front of City Hall to call for an increase in trans rights amidst a surge of anti-trans legislation.

Morrison-McLean did not explain in her letter why this year’s event was canceled, but she acknowledged “challenging times.”

The announcement came just under a week after she and her husband Darius McLean received widespread attention for a traffic stop on I-76 that Morrison-McLean captured in a 90-second cell phone video shared on social media. A state trooper was placed on restricted duty over the couple’s arrest and the couple said they intend to file a lawsuit over the incident.

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Christian Lovehall, a Philadelphia transgender advocate and founder of the Philly Trans March, said that while the flag holds symbolic meaning by recognizing trans peoples’ contributions to the city, it doesn’t change the injustices they face. The community tends to look inward, not to the city, to celebrate, he said, so the event’s cancellation won’t get in the way of community-building.

“I think people may think that they’re gifting us with something by raising the flag, but I think the flag raising is more of a tool of education for people outside of the community,” Lovehall said.

He said that while “there are valid reasons for not doing it this year,” he doesn’t know why it was cancelled.

“We know that Celina [Morrison-McLean] recently experienced an injustice, so if I were in her shoes, I would want to take a little break from organizing just to tend to my self care,” he said.

In her announcement, Morrison-McLean said Philadelphians can commemorate the holiday by acknowledging the flag at City Hall, and encouraged support for local organizations and initiatives.

“Mayor Parker and the Parker administration strongly support the transgender community and all LGBTQ residents of our city,” said Joe Grace, the mayor’s spokesperson.

Last week, Philadelphia City Council recognized the holiday in a resolution, and Councilmember Rue Landau, the city’s first openly LGBTQ+ member, spoke on the floor.

“This is a day to celebrate the vibrant contributions of transgender, nonbinary, and gender expansive individuals in our community and lift up the joy, triumphs, and pride that transgender people experience and bring into our communities,” she said.

Landau also sponsored a resolution honoring Philadelphia transgender advocates including the organizers of the Philly Trans March, Attic Youth Center, and Lovehall, who works as a constituent services representative for Landau.

On Friday, Philly Trans March organizers will rally in front of City Hall for trans youth and to honor Nex Benedict, 16-year-old non-binary Oklahoma student who was bullied and died by suicide after a fight in a school restroom.

“This tragedy comes at a time where anti-trans legislation throughout parts of our country have been established in place, putting all trans folk in jeopardy,” organizers posted on Facebook. “We will gather as form of resistance to show that we as a community demand better for our youth and community overall.”

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Also on Friday, the William Way LGBT Community Center will host a vendor market and fashion show for the Trans Day of Visibility in partnership with the Office of LGBT Affairs, Philly AIDS Thrift, and the Independence Business Alliance. Morrison-McLean, whose husband is chief operating officer at William Way, will attend on behalf of the city.