Protesters rallied outside the Vermont/Santa Monica metro station in East Hollywood to bring awareness to violence against the transgender community. (Matt Lemas/Neon Tommy)

“We have gathered here to demand dignity, justice and safety for our community," said Bamby Salcedo, the lead organizer for the rally and president of the Trans-Latin@Coalition. "This is the beginning of a national movement."

The rally was organized under the transgender movement #TransLivesMatter, and was just one segment of a string of demonstrations occurring throughout the country on Tuesday. Other locations included Washington D.C, Chicago and Santa Ana.

The organizations in attendance included Familia: Trans and Queer Liberation Movement, The TransLatin@Coalition, ELLA para Trans Latinas, Bienestar, The LGBTQ Task Force and Lambda Legal. 

Much of the #TransLivesMatter movement was motivated by the rise of transgender violence both across the United States and throughout Southern California, with two recent murders occurring in Hollywood and Anaheim.

Those in attendance rallied around the statistic that transgender persons are 400 times more likely to be subjects of violence than the rest of the population. One major issue they claim is that these attacks are rarely classified as hate crimes.

“They continue to kills us but nobody cares… well, we care,” Salcedo said during the rally. 

One recent example cited is the murder of Aniya Parker, a 47-year-old transgender woman who was shot at close range in East Hollywood in early October. LAPD classified it as a robbery, though many local LGBT activists claim otherwise. 

“The most recent murder of Aniya Parker is on the surface quite obviously a hate crime — three men ambushed her and shot her, but the LAPD doesn’t want to call it a hate crime,” said Michaela Ivri, a rally organizer. “Things like this have been going on for a long time.”

The demonstration shut down the intersection of Vermont Ave. and Santa Monica Boulevard at roughly 3 p.m. The multiple protesters in attendance linked arms and surrounded both cross streets, blocking traffic.

Tension grew as lines of stopped cars built up along the intersection. One pedestrian tried to physically assault some of the protesters, taking a swing at Salcedo. He was then quickly subdued by another demonstrator. 

Additionally, some commuters making a right turn attempted to push through the human barrier but were blocked by protesters.

Roughly 20 minutes into the rally police arrived, and the protestors cleared off the street back onto the sidewalk outside the Vermont/Santa Monica Metro station.

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The rally drew a diverse range of advocates, including members outside of the transgender community.

“As an open gay Latino man I wanted to be here because we're all LBGT, we're all a family, we support each other," said Frankie Varsenas, who during the event help up a sign that read “We All Bleed Red.” 

Many in attendance viewed the demonstration as a victory and stressed it was the first step in a national movement toward transgender equality.

“Today was a success, and it’s going to be continuing in order to raise awareness of the violence against transgender individuals that has got to stop,” said Karina Samala, a rally organizer. 

Ivri compared the #TranslivesMatter movement to those of the gay and lesbian community in the second half of the 20th century. 

“In a loose way you might compare it to Stonewall, where the gay and lesbian movement started,” Ivri said. “We’re looking for this to just be a beginning of a nationwide effort to bring more attention to transgender people.”

More than anything else, Salcedo stressed that the voice of the transgender community will only continue to grow.   

"This is the beginning of a movement, and they're going to be hearing more and more of us," Salcedo said.

Reach Staff Reporter Matt Lemas here.