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At Drag March For Change, Protesters Call For End To Violence Against Black Transgender People

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Amid the joy of LGBTQ Pride Month celebrations, hundreds of people turned out Sunday to call attention to a serious topic – attacks on the Black transgender community.

At the second Drag March for Change, people marched along Halsted Street from Belmont Avenue north to Grace Street and Broadway – the heart of the Northalsted LGBTQ nightlife and cultural district in East Lakeview. They called for an end to police brutality against members of the trans community.

The Chicago Black Drag Council organized the event, hoping to create a welcoming space and lasting change.

"Never before have I seen a sea of entertainers come to create, support, and fight for what's right in their community," one participant said in addressing the crowd.

The group is calling for the City Council to defund the Chicago Police Department by 75 percent and move the funding to social services and community programs, a ban on police officers from marching in Pride festivities, and the "abolishment of the system" under which George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Tony McDade were killed by police. McDade was a Black transgender man who was shot and killed by police in Tallahassee in March 2020.

Meanwhile, Chicago's official Pride celebrations are once again delayed by the pandemic. The city is moving forward with Pride in the Park in Grant Park in a couple of weeks, but the Pride Fest on North Halsted Street will not be held this year, and the Pride Parade will be held in October.

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