On the steps of the Alabama State Capitol in Montgomery, a member of the city’s LGBTQ community made sure their demands were heard during a march for transgender equality on Saturday.

Alex, who uses the pronouns “they, them, theirs” and preferred not to give their last name for this article, was one of the speakers during the event known as the Transgender Visibility March on Montgomery. Alex’s voice trembled as they spoke a poem that embody the pain of being discriminated against for being a gender nonconforming or transgender person. Gender nonconforming people express themselves in a manner that rejects society’s gender norms of femininity and masculinity.

Alex's poem touched on the compounding issues non binary and transgender people face due to discrimination, such as the lack of legal protections, the murders of transwomen and hate speech.

“Still you say that this life is nothing more than my choice. Today I will make a choice,” Alex said in their speech, “A choice to be here and say I have the right to exist, a right to protection, to safety, to happiness and to love. These will not be dismissed.”

Alex, who is a member of Montgomery Pride United, became emotional during their poetic speech. Alex embodied the pain of being discriminated against for being non binary. pic.twitter.com/sFYelNUgXP — Jonece Starr Dunigan (@StarrDunigan) September 28, 2019

The march, which was organized by LGBTQ group Montgomery Pride United (MPU), happened at the same time as the annual first National Trans Visibility March in Washington, D.C., where thousands of people from across the nation voiced their concerns over anti-LGBTQ legislation, such as the ban on transgender troops, discrimination and violence. Similar events were held in other cities across the nation to echo the demands for transgender equality that were voiced at the national march.

More than 50 people, some of them draped in the pink, blue and white stripes of the Transgender Pride flag, marched a little more than two blocks from MPU's Bayard Rustin Community Center on Madison Avenue to the Alabama State Capitol. While no protesters interrupted the event, POWER House, the group the provides escorts to people visiting abortion clinics in Alabama, came prepared with umbrellas to shield marchers from protesters if needed. Before the march started, MPU's President Jose Vasquez advised marchers not to interact with protesters if they appear.

"They want to get a rise out of you because they want to film that. We won’t give them that." Vasquez said.

The crowd was diverse both in race and age. Several marchers held up posters shaped like black fists that said "Trans Lives Matter". In January, Dana Martin, a 31-year-old black transwoman from Hope Hull, was found dead in a car that had crashed in a ditch with a gunshot wound to her head. The National Center for Transgender Equality said Martin was the first transgender person to be killed in the nation in 2019.

Travis Jackson, a U.S. Army veteran who is also a part of Black Lives Matter in Alabama and cofounder of MPU, took the lead during the march.

"When trans rights are under attack, what do we do?" Jackson chanted.

The marchers replied, "Stand up. Fight back."

Although Travis is bisexual, he wanted to stand with the trans community.

“Out of all of the LGBTQ community, transgender communities are the most targeted as far as hate crimes,” Jackson said. “I think there needs to be an awareness going on not just today, but every day and I believe that members of the transgender community should be able to live without any form of harassment.”

MPU Director Meta Ellis, who is gender nonconforming, told Al.com before the march the trans and gender nonconforming community is dealing with a hatred that’s eroding their financial and physical safety. Alabama isn’t one of the 21 states have laws prohibiting discrimination based on sexuality and gender identity. Trans-affirming jobs are few and far in between, Ellis said.

Alabama's hate crime law also doesn't include gender identity and sexuality. The state Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill in May that would have made it a crime to target someone based on their sexuality or their employment with law enforcement. The bill died and never became state law.

These issues make it hard for gender nonconforming and transgender people to get and keep jobs.

"We know many people in this city who have had to go back to identifying as their birth name and gender," Ellis said. "Others who are bolder about their approach to things and are openly going through transitioning face a lot of opposition and discrimination on their jobs either by losing work or putting up with all kinds of discrimination on their jobs, being harassed by other workers, etcetera."

Marchers bowed their heads during a moment of silence for Martin and other transgender people who were murdered or assaulted due to their gender identities. In Dallas, a transwoman was shot multiple times in the chest and arm on Sept. 20. The shooting is being investigated as a hate crime because the suspect shouted transphobic slurs at victim before shooting her at a bus stop. According to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), 18 transgender people have been killed this year. Nearly all of them are black transwomen and one of the victims was 17 years old.

"They are now in a place of power," Ellis said during the march. "We are the foot soldiers. We are here to reclaim our safety here. We are to stand up for our rights.”

We just had a moment of silence for Dana Martin and other transgender people who have died or suffered discrimination. A bell was rung in their honor. pic.twitter.com/dlkKmmq0Ny — Jonece Starr Dunigan (@StarrDunigan) September 28, 2019

A few well-known organizations that are dismantling state and national policies affecting the trans community also spoke during the event. Alison Mollman, staff attorney at the Equal Justice Initiative, said black transwomen are not only facing violence in the streets, but also in the criminal justice system. EJI's mission is to protect human rights by challenging racial and economic injustice in the criminal justice system. Mollman said EJI is committed to representing and advocating for the transgender community.

"If we look at transwomen in particular, one in five of them are going to face incarceration in the country. If we look at black trans people, one in two of them are facing incarceration," Mollman said. "We know that Alabama's prisons are some of the deadliest in the county and our trans brothers and sisters are facing violence at disproportionate rates."

In February 2018, ACLU filed a federal lawsuit calling on the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency to drop a requirement that transgender people show proof of gender-reassignment surgery before the gender marker can be changed. ACLU says the policy violates equal protection rights because a driver’s license that conflicts with a trans person's gender identify exposes the person to hostility aimed at transgender people.

Dillon Nettles, policy analyst with ACLU of Alabama, received applause when he mentioned the case and the case of ACLU client Aimee Stephens, who was fired after informing her employer she is a transwoman. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear Stephen's case on October 8.

"Across the country, we are not only going into courtrooms, but into state houses and classrooms and communities just to provide visible opportunities for leadership for in our community," Nettles said.

The speakers also used the event to empower each other despite the oppression. With pink, blue and white makeup on her face, LGBTQ human rights activist Ambrosia Starling criticized President Donald Trump's ban on transgender troops.

"I do believe that transgender soldiers are much braver and better Americans than Donald J. Trump," Starling said. "Because they showed up for service and they fulfilled their commitment to their country. They were willing to lay down their lives and die. He's not even willing to be honest."

Drag queens inspired the crowd as they performed to songs that talked about love - for themselves and others. Marchers applauded and raised their hands in praise as performed to hits such as, Whitney Houston’s “Greatest Love of All” and Christina Aguilera’s “Beautiful.”

Seske Lovell performs Whitney Houston because,”We all need to just love each other.” pic.twitter.com/86VTlILG5u — Jonece Starr Dunigan (@StarrDunigan) September 28, 2019

Victoria Jewelle, a drag entertainer who spoke out against a safety inspection by law enforcement that cancelled a drag show in June, performed to "My Times" a gospel song by LaShun Pace Rhodes.

"Think about the times in your lives when you came out, when you did something spectacular, when you was just truly you," Jewelle said to the crowd, "I want you to think about your times and how they felt to you. As long as you hold on to that, you will always be who you are supposed to be and nobody can tell you no other way."

The need for LGBTQ-inclusion in the faith community was stressed heavily during the event. The Rev. Chris Rothbauer, of Auburn Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, moved to Alabama a few months ago. Rothbauer, who also uses "they, them, their" pronouns, talked about being called "broken" by the church while growing up.

"I was taught I was sinful and confused. That if I just tried hard enough, I could be the man God wanted me to be," Rothbauer said. "But friends, I am here now as a religious preacher to declare that we are all holy creatures. Our gender identity, not our gender assignments, are sacred markers of who we are and to grow up thinking that you're different, that something is wrong with you - these are the real sins."

Montgomery Pride United ended the event by asking marchers to form a circle and hold hands as everyone repeated the words, "We stand in unity."

Vic Harris, who is also non binary and thus uses “they” pronouns as well, said the love and unity they felt during the event made the drive from their home in Birmingham to Montgomery worth it. Harris said they have been struggling to find an LGBTQ-inclusive church since college. Harris grew up in a Baptist household, but became skeptical about how some churches treat LGBTQ people after a pastor prayed over Harris at the request of Harris’ mother who found Harris was bisexual.

"It was really hard because faith was a big part of my life," Harris said. "It still is and I miss it a lot."

It's hard finding a LGBTQ-friendly church, but Harris has found hope through the march and can now continue to walk in their faith.

“It made me feel loved hearing the different reverends say, ‘We are here. God loves you,’” they said.