Source: Michael Noble Jr. / Getty

15,000 people gathered in Brooklyn to remind the world that when we say Black lives matter, Black trans lives are to be included in that.

Source: Erik McGregor / Getty

“’I want to speak to my Black trans folks first,’ said Raquel Willis, a transgender rights activist.

Her words went out to a historic crowd: a sea of 15,000 people (an estimate delivered by the NYPD over police scanners), all clad in white, all assembled outside of the Brooklyn Museum in Prospect Heights to mourn and celebrate Black trans lives—and to demand human rights for Black trans people,” GQ writes, adding “Organizers addressed the plight of people burdened by doubly marginalized identities—people of Black and trans experience—and emphasized their important roles in liberating all Black people from the reign of white supremacy.”

“If you have an organization that has no Black people in leadership, if your organization has no funding or programs specifically for Black trans people, you are obsolete,” Raquel Willis continued.

Source: Michael Noble Jr. / Getty

The rally comes as Black Lives Matters protests continue around the country, following the deaths of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, and just last week, Rayshard Brooks.