Around 250 members of the transgender community, alongside allies, families and neighbors, gathered to show love and support for the transgender community at the William H Hall Branch of the Cranston Public Library Monday evening. The protest was organized by a variety of groups, including TGI Network, LGBTQ Action RI, Youth Pride Inc, Sage, Womxn Project, Haus of Codec, and the Democratic Women’s Caucus.

Inside the library, an anti-trans hate group was hosting Chris Elston, who has participated in protests outside schools that affirm transgender youth and children’s hospitals that offer gender affirming health care. Elston has called the transgender community a cult.

The Cranston library offered a tepid statement explaining their decision to allow the hate group to use their meeting space, but it’s hard to imagine the library would host a group like the Proud Boys or the KKK. The library also closed its doors to all other patrons for the evening, allowing only the hate group attendees and a smattering of complicit media inside the room. It was reported that about 25 people attended the hate group meeting. Thirteen Cranston Police Officers were on hand. There were no incidents: Those outside protesting the hate group were entirely peaceful.

In counterpoint to the hate inside the library, the Edgewood Congregational Church across the street from the library opened their doors to people at the rally who needed to use a bathroom since the library locked people out.

“We are here to support trans people – adults and children,” said event moderator Damián Lima. “We’re also here to send a clear message to Cranston and all of Rhode Island: Affirm our trans neighbors, families and friends.

“We are here tonight because the library is hosting a panel of anti-trans people whose life’s work is causing harm to the trans community,” continued Lima. “It is a panel full of the worst combination of absolute ignorance and absolute certainty. And they are having their panel at the library, a place that we thought was a place full of information and truth.

“Since the library decided to host this group, tonight we will have our own panel, right here, right now, with actual experts from the trans community.”

“They believe that people like me are either living in a fantasy world, or worse yet, mentally ill,” said the Reverend Dr. Donnie Anderson, referring to the people attending the panel inside the library. “And I need to tell you: I am neither living in a fantasy world nor am I mentally ill. I am a trans woman and proudly so!

“These people are cowards because they’re not coming after people like me. They’re coming after our children,” continued Reverend Anderson. “I believe with all my heart in free speech. I believe in the marketplace of ideas. I believe we should be confronted, and talk to people who see the world differently than we do, but, my friends, there is a limit to free speech. I can not go into a theater and yell, ‘Fire!’

“And what is taking place in that building right now, and do not be deceived, these are people who are recruiting people to believe not only that people like me are phony, or don’t exist, or mentally ill, they are recruiting people to be part of legislative efforts that will make it more difficult for our children to realize who they are and be who they are. And the result of that is going to be that children are going to die!”

“You may know me from my various roles within the community, but before all those roles I was just a trans young adult struggling to ind support and access to medical care,” said Jaye Watts, trans activist and healthcare provider. “And that medical care saved my life.

“It’s important to note that while I came out as an adult, I had known for years, through adolescence in particular, that I was struggling with a deep feeling that something was different, though I did not have access to the language or knowledge that trans people existed,” continued Watts. “We’re not seeing a wave of kids coming out as trans. We’re seeing a generation of future adults accessing age appropriate information and language at a time when it is developmentally appropriate to get that information, when those feelings are emerging.

“Today the Cranston Library has chosen to host a group that not only states that trans kids should not have access to medical care by protesting children’s hospitals, but that they believe that trans kids do not exist. Denying the existence of trans kids, and that trans adults could have once been trans kids, is inherently violent. They wish we did not exist, but what they fail to understand is that we are not going away.”

“It is an insult that the library is allowing this event to take place,” said Giona Picheco. “Libraries are supposed to be a safe place. A place of learning, and of curiosity and acceptance. Imagine a young trans child going into the library and discovering a discussion is taking place questioning their right to exist.

“Make no mistake. This is not an honest discussion about trans care. This is a hate-fueled agenda meant to terrorize trans kids and their parents into conforming to an unrealistic binary that quite simply does not apply to everyone,” said Picheco. “They want to deny us, invalidate us and eliminate us and their tactics are misinformation and stoking fear and outrage.

“The first time I was ever seen, and loved, and respected was at a GSA meeting at my local library,” said Damián Lima. “Unfortunately my parents could not be there for me. My parents could not be there for me for almost ten years. But the library was there.

“And this is what a lot of people don’t understand,” continued Lima. “If we look back to the AIDs crisis, and look at the many, many gay men who died alone in hospitals because their family would not accept them, but the community showed up. We showed up for each other the same way we are showing up tonight.

“We are here to show our trans young people that they can grow up to be happy adults. That we can have jobs. That we can have families. That we can have friends and pets and we can go out and have fun – and live!”

“The hate speech given opportunity to fester here I can not stay silent about,” said Rush Frazier, Executive Directer of Youth Pride Inc. “Staying silent in this moment condones behavior that normalizes bigotry and white supremacy, that hinders LGBTQ+ youth’s freedom to thrive. Queer and transgender youth have a right to know themselves. They have a right to know their history. They have a right to feel safe in public places. They have the right to live a healthy life just the same as anyone.

“The hateful misinformation campaign these speakers are disseminating tonight is making our youth less safe in school and workplaces and out in public,” continued Frazier. “Right at this very moment we can’t do anything about the poor judgement, the poor decision making at the Cranston Public Library. But what we can do is raise our voices and place our energy in service to the most vulnerable people in our community.”

“We will have opponents say that their free speech was being oppressed,” said Volta. “They’re inside the building right now, aren’t they? No free speech was being suppressed. However, it is ironic that we congregate during the week of National Banned Books Week.

“When we think about libraries, when we think about what purpose libraries have served, it is important that we not separate this from the histories of trans identities in the world…”

“No matter what bigotry they have going on behind us, no matter what bigotry is being allowed here at Cranston Library, we know that there is an overwhelmingly strong community of lovers, supporters and fighters who will stand up every single day, when it is hard, when we are tired, and we are worn down, who will stand up for trans kids,” said Senator Tiara Mack (Democrat, District 6, Providence).

“Some of the people inside that building… have told people like me… that we are not worthy of feeling love and support and affirmation,” continued Senator Mack. “They do not want to protect our kids. They want to indoctrinate our kids into hate groups. They want to make our community members feel less than.

“They have spent the last few months organizing around Rhode Island trying make people like me, on the internet and public spaces, feel like they do not have a voice. Trying to make us smaller. But what do we say to that?”

“Fuck that!” said a person in the crowd.

“Yeah!” said Senator Mack. “We’re going to say, ‘Fuck that!'”

“The safety of the LGBTQ+ community and Cranston residents is of great to concern to me,” said Cranston City Councilmember Lammis Vargas (Ward 1). The William H Hall Library is in her ward. The LGBTQ and Trans community in general should not live in fear because of how they identify themselves or where they live.

“This type of propaganda marginalizing and targeting communities will not be accepted here in Cranston.”