It’s easy to look around the Manhattan Seaport on Pride weekend, see the colorful decorations, and think you’re in for a party. To be fair, you are, but it’s not that simple. The signs all around were adorned with this year’s NYC Pride theme, “Rise Up: Pride in Protest.” It’s a reminder that if you’re just there for a good time, you’re missing the point.
The day kicked off with a rally. “We are gathered here today in solidarity to support our young people, to support our emerging, beautiful queer and trans kids,” Marti Gould Cummings, one of the NYC Pride grand marshals and the first nonbinary candidate to run for public office in New York City, told the crowd. “To give them the life to grow into thriving trans adults and queer adults.” Their energy drew a large applause from the crowd, which steadily grew as the day went on.
Trans and nonbinary activists gave inspiring speeches, and the singing and dancing all came with a message about joy, and how important it is to feel that despite the politics of this moment.
But the performance that stuck with so many people was a trans 12-year-old named Naim. They took the mic when it was their turn to take the stage, the light catching the green stickers on their face. That color choice was deliberate, because Naim is a huge fan of Wicked. It’s not surprising, given the parallels between the main character’s upbringing and ostracization, and the persecution many young LGBTQ people face.
“Elphaba was singled out and despised for being green. Just for that, for being green,” Naim said. “But what they didn’t know until later, was that Elphaba was magic… Us trans kids, we’re magic. We are. We’re magic… Together, we will defy their gravity.” That last line received probably the biggest applause of the event, and led us into a rendition of “The Wizard and I.”
You could see the confidence on Naim’s face right away. It doesn’t matter that Idina Menzel sang it on Broadway, it doesn’t matter that Cynthia Erivo sang it for the movie. In that moment, that was Naim’s song. “But I swear, some day there’ll be a celebration throughout Oz that’s all to do with me.” They held the high note on “me” with a strong, clear belt, and, please excuse the cliché, the crowd went wild.
“They are absolutely a force,” Ro Peña, co-founder of Trans formative Schools told me after the number.
I asked Naim why they chose that song for this rally. “I was using it here today to say we’re going to be higher than any other politician that wants to bring us down. I’m not a bad person for being who I am. And me and all my other trans friends should be celebrated.”
Naim is one of the many students who are part of Trans formative Schools’ after-school program. “Trans formative Schools is flipping the script. We are a trans-centered space where all are welcomed,” Peña explained. The nonprofit organization runs this program for students between the ages of 9 and 15, and it’s aiming to open a middle school in the fall of 2026. “It’s been impactful for us to see children develop and have these moments of understanding that when they are free to explore and question, then they are free to feel like leaders.”
NYC Pride also named Trans formative Schools as a grand marshal for this year’s march. The two organizations work very closely with each other, and Trans formative Schools has received multiple NYC Pride “Pride Gives Back” grants. “It’s a very unique partnership that shows what happens when you think outside of the box,” NYC Pride Co-Chair Kazz Alexander told me.
The group’s designation as a grand marshal is an honor for Peña and the rest of the staff. “We’re a collective force, doing this work together,” they said.
Even though it was a “Youth Pride” event, people of all ages were in the crowd. That included parents bringing their young children, dressed in every color of the rainbow, and experiencing queer joy and expression.
And they weren’t all queer, either. One ally’s protest sign caught my eye: “There’s no script for LOVE. Let’s make space for every story.” The woman holding it was Linda from Queens. “What brings me here is the total abuse of the gay and trans community by this current administration,” she said.
Support also came from actual cheerleaders. Gotham Cheer is a queer cheer team who volunteers their time. I spoke to one of them, named Jasmine, who told me, “It’s so important to uplift our youth and make them feel so important. Especially our trans youth, we want them to be seen.”
At one point, I met a trans woman named Chloe, who echoed that sentiment. “When we look back in five years, we’re going to see that the visibility being created is helpful,” she said. “Visibility” appeared to have a double-meaning, given the eye-catching trans flag wrapped around her waist and the T-shirt that said, “PROTECT FEAR THE DOLLS,” a take on a slogan calling for action to prevent discrimination against trans people.
Chloe said she was there on that cloudy Saturday to “support our youth.” She has known she is trans for more than 30 years, but didn’t come out until she was 42. And she had a message for young trans and queer people who might be struggling: “Be yourself, love yourself, and the trans community is here for you. We’re here to help you, support you, keep you surviving and thriving.” Chloe is one of the conductors for the Queer Big Apple Corps, and performed with the band during this year’s Pride March, another example of trans visibility that she’s happy to provide.
But while Chloe spoke from her years of life experience, Naim showed you don’t have to be an adult to understand the bigger picture of the world around you and say something profound. The future Broadway star also had advice for trans kids like them: “Stand strong and don’t let people that don’t know how magical you are bring you down.”
