Downtown Pittsburgh Protests Merge With United Call For Justice
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Two protests calling for justice merged in downtown Pittsburgh.
The first started Tuesday as a protest against a local bar and its alleged treatment of members of the Black trans community.
"Until we are all together as one and united as one, we won't get anywhere," said Dena Stanley, the president and founder of Trans YOUniting.
The group of about 100 people protested outside 941 Saloon and blocked the intersection of Liberty Avenue and Smithfield Street.
Protestors say Black transgender people are made to feel unwelcomed by the bar's owner and took offense to Black men standing guard at the door on Tuesday.
The LGTBQ rights groups say they're concerned about a national rollback of healthcare protections that safeguarded gay, transgender and bisexual citizens.
Trans YOUniting and other LGTBQIA+ groups are asking for members of Pittsburgh's healthcare networks to reach out to them.
"The Black Lives Matters movement needs to be intersectional and that means we have to support Black trans lives," said Madelyn Human.
The group then merged with the "Justice for Baby Marcus" group, which met at the county courthouse to call for the removal of the Allegheny County district attorney from an investigation into a 15-month-old baby's death.
The group called for state Attorney General Josh Shapiro to take over the case.
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Marcus White, Jr. was shot and killed while he was at a picnic with his family in Pittsburgh's East Hills neighborhood in 2013.
The case has been active for nearly a decade, but a suspect is now behind bars.
Twenty-two-year-old Gregory Parker was taken into custody on Saturday afternoon and is accused of having pulled the trigger.
Parker is facing criminal homicide, criminal conspiracy, aggravated assault and gun charges.
