When President Donald Trump entered his second term and declared <\/span>another war on LGBTQ+ rights in America<\/span><\/a>, the blowback was felt almost immediately.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n At the top of the year, Trump spent his first 24 hours in office firing off a blitz of executive actions impacting marginalized communities, some orders including direct attacks on immigration, diversity, equity and inclusion practices and trans rights nationwide as part of his <\/span>promised right-wing 2.0 agenda<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Since then, the Trump administration has followed through on plans to roll back protections of trans and nonbinary people with <\/span>harmful policies<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>bans<\/span><\/a> denying both their personhood and identity, <\/span>reportedly more than any president in American history<\/span><\/a>. The repercussions thus far have been devastating, especially for those at the intersection of the president\u2019s ongoing anti-immigrant, anti-DEI and anti-trans crusade.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n For the TransLatin@ Coalition (TLC), one of the nation\u2019s leading trans and immigration rights advocacy organizations, the consequences have been felt most deeply in terms of funding.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n As early as February, the Los Angeles-based nonprofit began receiving notices that changes enacted by the Trump administration would impact federal funds used to finance multiple services it provides to the local community, including housing and case management, violence prevention services, mental health support, and re-entry programs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cOur organization is currently experiencing defunding from multiple sources, to the point where we had to close two of our centers and lay off about 10 of our staff,\u201d TLC president and CEO Bamby Salcedo tells celebrity.land. \u201cSo we\u2019re trying to, essentially, supplement the funding that we\u2019re losing, while, at the same time, continue to provide the services to our community.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The latter is what partially inspired the organization to launch its first Walk4Humanity fundraiser in Los Angeles on Aug. 24. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n A crisis response to the Trump administration\u2019s destructive anti-trans campaign and local ICE raids, the inaugural event was catalyzed by political backlash, community suffering and financial strain all at once. However, the financial issues were what initially motivated the organization to take action.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n According to Salcedo, portals that have historically been used to request government funds were, at one point, inaccessible to her organization this year, and at least two of its programs have been defunded to the point where they may soon cease operations if financial needs aren\u2019t met. Add to that the fallout of anything associated with DEI, and the nonprofit found itself under attack, especially after it was called out by members of Congress recently<\/a>, at least \u201ctwice in a negative way,\u201d Salcedo says.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThere are people who are extreme right conservative individuals, who essentially are spreading lies about who we are as an organization and the work that we do,\u201d Salcedo said, pointing out their work with policy research and services that better the livelihood of trans, gender-expansive and intersex (TGI) people.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cOnce again, [they] spread lies that we received millions of dollars from the federal government,\u201d she continues, \u201cand that we use the money to abolish the police, ICE and to provide abortion access, and that we also are grooming young people.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n That harmful rhetoric isn\u2019t just coming from the federal level, she says, but from many \u201cparts of the MAGA sphere\u201d who have gone out of their way to demonize what organizations like the TLC are doing to stand up for TGI folks\u2019 human rights.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cIn my opinion, I think they are seeing the power that we have as an organization and the work that we\u2019re doing,\u201d Salcedo adds, \u201cand so that\u2019s why they want to target us.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Alisha Jucevic for celebrity.land<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n That\u2019s what makes the launch of the Walk4Humanity all the more radical. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n At a time when institutions and other entities are cowering under the administration\u2019s aggressive political tactics, the event is an explicit declaration that TGI individuals have the right to live freely in this country without fear of having their humanity ripped away. Moreover, the walk demonstrates the resilience of a community willing to fight against the odds to affirm its existence and ensure its survival.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThe idea is for us to bring all people to stand in solidarity with one another,\u201d Salcedo says of the charity walk. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cFundraising is one of the main [goals], but also, just for people to get a moment of joy,\u201d she adds. \u201cFor all of us to stand in solidarity with one another, forget about the world and just come together as a community.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Alisha Jucevic for celebrity.land<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n On an early morning in LA, dozens of locals and TLC members gathered in the heart of Silver Lake for a two-mile justice walk to Hollywood. Actor-influencer and Walk4Humanity grand marshal Kalen Allen helped open the event with a message about the cause that drew everyone out on the sweltering Sunday.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cNow is the most imperative time that we all come together as a community to do stuff like this to be seen, especially at a time when the administration is trying to silence us, and especially put us in the back,\u201d he declared with urgency at the walk\u2019s kickoff. \u201cWe are here to say that will not be the case for us. We will always stand in who we are firmly and in solidarity, no matter where you\u2019re from or who you are.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Allen has long been a vocal advocate for the LGBTQ+ community. With the wide-ranging audience he built during his time on \u201cThe Ellen DeGeneres Show,\u201d the alum saw joining TLC\u2019s event as an obvious chance to help unite diverse communities once again in support of a just cause.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Alisha Jucevic for celebrity.land<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n \u201cI knew that it was my mission to be able to support special communities that I\u2019m a part of, and those that don\u2019t have that access or that same visibility to be able to tell their stories,\u201d Allen explains. \u201cI think a lot of that is in the name we\u2019re talking about, Walk4Humanity. Because we\u2019re talking about this thing that all of us have in common, that we are all human beings. And that should be the only basis on which we operate.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Sadly, that\u2019s not the same mentality shared by the current administration and its supporters, who continue to push anti-trans legislation and language that has forced organizations like TLC to navigate funding cuts and more fallout. It\u2019s that lack of empathy, Allen says, that makes visibility and advocacy of trans and nonbinary folks more critical than ever.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI think in today\u2019s age, that\u2019s what people don\u2019t understand,\u201d Allen adds. <\/span>\u201cYou don\u2019t have to experience somebody else\u2019s life to be able to have compassion for them, to have empathy for them, to stand and fight for them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cYou don’t have to experience somebody else’s life to be able to have compassion for them, to have empathy for them, to stand and fight for them.\u201d<\/p>\n – Kalen Allen<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n That sentiment echoed among many attendees at Walk4Humanity. University of Texas at Austin alum Simi Sodipe, 21, a cisgender Black woman, recognized the importance of supporting marginalized communities during her time as an undergraduate, when she got involved with her university\u2019s Gender and Sexuality Center (GSC) \u2014 established in 2004 as a safe space for women and LGBTQIA+ individuals.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cIt basically provided any and all resources for queer students, by queer students,\u201d she shares. \u201cIt had sexual wellness products and mental health resources. You could even get binders from there, and they had a food pantry.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n But like the TLC, it, too, was affected by the wave of anti-LBGTQ and anti-DEI legislation sweeping the country. And as a result of Texas\u2019 Senate Bill 17 \u2014 which prohibits specified DEI activities at all of the state\u2019s public universities \u2014 going into effect last year, the GSC was <\/span>shut down and replaced by a women\u2019s community center<\/span><\/a> that removed all trainings and workshops related to sexual orientation and gender identity.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cIt wasn\u2019t just for queer students,\u201d Sodipe adds. \u201cIt was just a support center, honestly. And now it doesn\u2019t exist.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Unfortunate situations like that are whySodipe felt compelled to support the Walk4Humanity after she saw a trans influencer she follows promoting it. \u201cWith all of the negative hate and the sentiment going on,\u201d Sodipe says, \u201cI felt like I had to support, even as someone who\u2019s a cis [woman].\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n She adds, \u201cI just believe everybody deserves rights.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Alisha Jucevic for celebrity.land<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n That empathic feeling reverberated throughout this year\u2019s Walk4Humanity, which flowed into a lively block party celebration on Sunday, complete with local vendors and live performances that kept the fundraising event in high spirits.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Even on what felt like the hottest day of the year, a number of folks braved LA\u2019s grueling heat wave to stand in solidarity with the TLC\u2019s mobilization of support. From dancing in the streets to bold fashion statements to sharing their stories with one another, the spirit of resistance was unmistakably present.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n But for many attendees, the day wasn\u2019t just about protesting an unjust system determined to make TGI lives more difficult. Walk4Humanity, much like the TLC itself, was about showing up for one another, finding strength in numbers and embracing joy, even in the face of adversity.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Alisha Jucevic for celebrity.land<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n \u201cWith everything going on, a lot of funding being cut from a lot of different organizations serving the LGBT community, I\u2019m just trying to find ways to take action, to be in community,\u201d says Luis Ortiz, 32, founder and organizer of the Rainbow Beach Ultimate<\/a> pickup frisbee group.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cWhile I, myself, am not trans,\u201d he adds, \u201cI have trans family, trans siblings [and] trans friends. But even if I didn\u2019t have that personal stake, being gay, our journeys, our activism, our camaraderie knows no bounds \u2026 I\u2019m here for my community, and I\u2019m here for everyone beyond.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI think, especially now, when there’s a lot more conservative, exclusionary groups, even within the LGBT community, it’s important for as many of us to come together in the face of that.\u201d<\/p>\n – Luis Ortiz<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n Similarly, fashion designer Jos\u00e9 Huizar, 40, of LA-based brand <\/span>Bad Burro<\/span><\/a>, says they also showed up to support the Walk4Humanity as both a member of the LGBTQ+ community and someone who can attest to the powerful work the TLC has been doing for the last 16 years.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cTo me, the TransLatin@ has been my family,\u201d they say. \u201cThey\u2019ve always opened their doors to me, and I\u2019m always loved by them and I love them, too.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Alisha Jucevic for celebrity.land<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n Others in attendance had a more personal history tied to the TLC\u2018s cause. One of them was Shannon Axe, a 25-year-old trans woman who shares that she experienced institutional pushback early in life. After coming out at age 7 in 2007, she says officials in her Colorado school district \u201cimplemented policies that erased my existence,\u201d igniting a national conversation about trans discrimination in schools<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cWhen I came out as transgender, I was just a child who simply wanted to be herself, to live openly as a girl, and to go to school like everyone else,\u201d Axe says. \u201cBut instead of support, my family and I were thrown into a national media firestorm. Our lives were dissected by strangers, and I was denied admission to a nearby public school solely because I was transgender.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Axe knows firsthand what it\u2019s like to be treated as a controversy, so when it came to supporting TLC and her longtime friend Salcedo, showing up to Walk4Humanity was both personal and necessary.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI\u2019m here today because I believe in humanity, I believe in love and I believe in justice,\u201d Axe says. \u201cWe just have to keep fighting and keep believing that the light and the love will always win, because the light that is within the trans community is brighter than any other.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Alisha Jucevic for celebrity.land<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n \u201cWe just have to keep fighting and keep believing that the light and the love will always win, because the light that is within the trans community is brighter than any other.\u201d<\/p>\n – Shannon Axe<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n The TLC is hopeful that the Walk4Humanity will bring the organization closer to its financial goals, allowing it to continue serving as a beacon of hope for its community members and beyond. 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