Thousands of protesters have gathered across the US in support of Black Trans Lives Matter.

One of the largest protests took place outside the Brooklyn Museum in New York last night, in honour of black trans people, who are at extremely high risk of losing their lives.

Protesters wore white, just as some of the first activists to demonstrate in support of civil rights for black Americans had in New York in 1917.

The protests were partly in response to the murders of two black trans women last week.

Riah Milton was shot during an attempted robbery in Ohio, while the mutilated body of Dominique Fells was discovered by a river in Philadelphia.

Both women were misgendered in initial police reports.

Protesters were also reacting to Trump's announcement that he is reversing Obama-era legislation that makes it illegal to discriminate against transgender people when providing healthcare.

He made the changes during Pride month, and on the fourth anniversary of the mass shooting at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Florida, that claimed 49 lives.

The crowd listened to speakers on the steps of Brooklyn Museum.

They then began marching silently, another nod to the NAACP's 1917 Silent Protest Parade, before chanting their support for Black Trans Lives Matter.

The protest was organised by multiple organisations that support trans people.

The Okra Project offers free meals to trans people who need them, while GLITS help to provide healthcare and housing to trans sex workers.

Other cities including Boston and Hollywood held their own protests.

Chicago held a Drag March for Change in support of black LGBTQ+ people.

There have been 14 reported murders of transgender and gender non-conforming people in the US in 2020 alone, and there are likely to be many more that have gone unreported.

A black trans man, Tony McDade, was killed by Tallahassee police in Florida in late May and was misgendered in subsequent reports.

A black trans woman, Iyanna Dior, was attacked in Minneapolis by a crowd of people shouting homophobic slurs in early June, with a video of the incident circulating online.

With black trans people experiencing vastly disproportionate rates of violence and murder, the demonstrations in their support spreading across the US are an important reminder that all black lives matter.

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