CAPITOL HILL, SEATTLE – Queer and trans homeless youth from WERQ Winter Institute organized a Take Back The Hill march on April 10. The group convened on Pike and Broadway at 7:30 PM taking to the streets, raising awareness and fighting against the spike in anti-LGBTQ hate crimes that the famously gay neighborhood has been enduring recently due to rapid gentrification. The group cited disappearing queer and trans spaces as a major issue.
There were many points of significance the organizers made sure to stop at to call out the injustice and violence members of the community have 80 attended proudly marching through the streets, heading south on Broadway chanting “Bros and Woo Girls, go back to Ballard!” a nod to local queer artist John Criscitello, whose anti-gentrification posters have garnered national attention.
The first stop for the march was an intersection in front of Pony bar, a business known for being outspoken against gentrification and for LGBTQ visibility. One organizer by the name of Ryn held the intersection calling for the end of police brutality against the community while a second organizer went inside handing a letter requesting the business designate a gender neutral bathroom.
Protesters made sure to stop at the police station where organizers and protesters shared their experiences of police brutality and their lack of willingness to help and understand the unique needs LGBQT victims face when attacked. A participant told how when they attempted to file a report they were insulted with homophobic slurs by the Seattle police.
The rain continued to pound so hard that the rain penetrated the umbrella of one protester, a member of the queer nun organization The Sisters of the Mother House of Washington, soaking the sister’s uniform coronet. The sisters chanted, “We’re here! We’re queer! We’re fabulous don’t f— with us!”
From the police station the protesters turned east marching to R Place, a local gay bar where last year two men, Dwone Anderson-Young and Ahmed Said were abducted and murdered by an assailant who is currently standing trial for the crime. Baz, an organizer with the group, chalked the sidewalk and building with the two slain men’s names while the queer nuns said a prayer.
Another protester spoke out asking if the group could stop in front of the site of Black Coffee, a place where homeless trans and queer youth could visit and not be asked to leave for not purchasing anything. Once a bastion of hope for their community, it has since been bought out and is being renovated into yet another upscale restaurant for the new wealthy-elite residents of Capitol Hill.
Ending in front of the Starbucks Reserve, the group finished their chants at what was called “symbol of capitalist greed and consumerism,” garnering much attention from the coffee drinkers inside. Soaked and tired, the protesters dispersed with promise of more organizing yet to come.
