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More than 400 trans flags removed from Boston Common; advocates call for hate crime investigation
“It’s discouraging that we can’t celebrate our dead, and especially this week,” an organizer who helped place the flags said. “It’s heartbreaking to see that here.”
A memorial honoring Transgender Day of Remembrance on Boston Common was “deliberately taken down” this week, and LGBTQ advocates are calling for the incident to be investigated as a hate crime.
The Queer Neighborhood Council, a nonprofit dedicated to LGBTQ advocacy, issued a statement in an Instagram post Thursday. The group condemned the “hateful act of vandalism” against the Trans Flag Memorial, which was installed legally with a permit from the city.
“This act is not simple vandalism; it is a hate crime that directly echoes the very violence and prejudice that TDOR was established to condemn,” the group said in its statement. “The removal of this public, permitted memorial is a brutal reminder that the hate which spurs anti-trans violence is alive and active in our City and our communities.”
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The miniature flags were planted on Boston Common, directly across from the State House, last Sunday to honor “every known trans and gender-expansive person lost to fatal violence since 2020.” This is the first time such a memorial has been organized, according to Jack Imbergamo, executive director of the Queer Neighborhood Council. All told, volunteers placed 425 flags.
On Monday night, Imbergamo said he received an email from someone who described seeing multiple people taking down the flags and throwing them away. By Tuesday morning, they were all gone. Since then, there have been no traces of the flags, and Imbergamo has no idea what happened to them.
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“It was like they were never there,” he said.
While organizing the memorial, Imbergamo knew that there was a chance that something like this could happen. The fact that it did, he said, reinforces the power of the initial idea and the memorial’s ability to bring awareness to the dangers facing trans people.
Thursday marks the culmination of Transgender Awareness Week, during which advocacy groups have been working to increase understanding about trans people and highlight the threats they face.
“It’s discouraging that we can’t celebrate our dead, and especially this week,” Imbergamo said. “It’s heartbreaking to see that here.”
Another member of the Queer Neighborhood Council filed a report with the Boston Police Department after it became clear what had happened, according to Imbergamo. He did not have any information about a potential investigation.
Spokespeople for Gov. Maura Healey, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, the Boston Police Department, and Attorney General Andrea Campbell did not return requests for information.
“This is absolutely despicable. This latest incident of vandalism is a stark reminder of the hostility towards trans people — in life and in death. Our trans siblings deserve to live safely as their full, authentic selves—without fear of violence or hateful, cowardly acts like these—and we will not be intimidated,” Rep. Ayanna Pressley said in a statement.
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Imbergamo said that he and the leaders of other advocacy groups involved in the memorial have had discussions about potentially placing more flags on the Common, but no concrete decisions have been made.
Earlier this week, the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women released a lengthy statement defending a member who was the subject of “hateful language and violent rhetoric.” The commission member, a trans woman, was appointed to the body by Healey earlier this year. After an article about her spread through “the right-wing media pundit circle,” she was subject to death threats and more.
On Wednesday, the Boston City Council unanimously voted to establish a community advisory council within the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQIA2S+ Advancement.
“In this moment, when folks feel so threatened in terms of health care, access to housing, when the very height of our government and our country is spewing trans hate and homophobic misogynic hatred, this is a moment to stand in solidarity with this community,” Councilor Liz Breadon said.
This year, the Trump administration has worked to roll back protections for trans people and crack down on what it calls “gender ideology.”
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In 2024, the Human Rights Campaign released a report documenting hundreds of instances of anti-trans violence in America and labeled the attacks an “epidemic.” Most victims of this violence are trans women and people of color.
Imbergamo said Thursday he was using Transgender Day of Remembrance to think about those that have been lost.
“I’m a leader of a queer organization right now in America. So I, and my community, feel very much under attack,” he said “I’m trying to take this day to honor and reflect on those we’ve lost regardless of what happened to the memorial. Moving forward, I’m committed to fighting for the safety of all of our trans siblings that are still here with us.”
When asked if he had a message to the wider community, Imbergamo offered a succinct response.
“Trans people exist, and we are not going anywhere,” he said.
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