Deja Re is a transgender Latina who said she understands what it is like to feel invisible.

On a stage at De la Guerra Plaza in front of several hundred people, she told the crowd that “we rise together to show the world we are limitless.”

“Today I am not just speaking for myself,” Re said. I am speaking for every one of us who has ever been told you don’t belong, that you should shrink, or that you should hide. But you want to know something? We are not going to shrink. We are not going to hide. We are here. We are unapologetically taking up space in this world.”

Re was one of the speakers at Saturday’s Transgender Unity March, an event organized by the Santa Barbara Transgender Advocacy Network.

The large crowd covered most of the grass at De la Guerra Plaza, and then the several hundred who attended marched up State Street. Activist Max Rorty led the crowd with a megaphone on the march to Victoria Street, as onlookers pulled out their smartphones to capture video of the crowd.

The event featured several transgender, LGTBQ+ speakers, and allies.

Since taking office, President Donald Trump has signed an executive order recognizing only two genders, said he would remove transgender individuals from the military, and threatened to halt funding to states that recognize transgender athletes.

The signs in the crowd made many statements: “We Will Not be Erased,” and “Our Creator Loves All Beings,” and “Of Course, I Love My Trans Son.”

Among the speakers was Stephanie Wade, a transgender woman, and a former U.S. Marine.

Wade said that no one has a right to a military job and that serving is a true “meritocracy.”

“The transgender veterans who serve, not one of them has ever asked for special treatment,” Wade said. “Every one of the 8,000 to 15,000 transgender service members on active duty right now have met every standard, reached every obstacle and shattered every expectation. They have earned their right to be there.”

She said that transgender service members are mostly in the officer and senior enlisted ranks.

“That means the people we are about to kick out are some of our greatest leaders, people who have fought and shown valor on battlefields across the world, people whom we have invested millions of dollars to train them,” Wade said.

Another speaker, Lyiam Galo, took the stage and described himself as a “relentless gay person, extremely gay.”

“I am happy to be here with you all in resistance against these unbelievable attacks on our rights,” Galo said. “I am not currently transitioning, but I do say our rights, everybody here, these attacks on people’s access to health care, to work without fear of discrimination, to even access to public spaces without fear of undue attention.”

Galo said the attacks are coming for “anyone who is not a straight white male.”

He said his goal was to empower trans allies.

“You all have to show up for those who can’t speak for themselves,” he said. “Allies, you have skin in the game too.”

Goleta City Councilman James Kyriaco, Santa Barbara City Councilman Oscar Gutierrez and Goleta Union School Board member Ethan Bertrand attended the event. Laura Capps, chair of the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors, and Kristen Sneddon, Santa Barbara city councilwoman, also spoke at the event.

Sneddon called the event “a celebration.” She said she had a message for anyone in the LGBTQ+ community.

“You belong, you matter, we see you, you belong in all the spaces where people are,” Sneddon said. “You belong in sports, you belong in government, you belong in medicine, you belong everywhere.”

She said as a woman of science people have tried to push her out of spaces that they felt she didn’t belong. She led the crowd in a cheer, where she stomped her foot and pumped her fist.

“I am here, I am here, I am strong, I am strong, I belong, I belong,” she said.

Other speakers included Amber Thompson, a transgender activist, Kristin Flickinger, a community organizer, Sean Baker, a therapist, and Lal Zimman, a professor at UCSB.

For Deja Re, the transgender Latina activist, the movement is not about asking the government for permission to exist. It’s about demanding the right to love without fear, Re said.

“As long as we stand united, as long as we keep speaking our truth, there is no power strong enough in this world to dim our light,” Re said. “Today I ask you, I am going to demand that you hold your head high, stand tall, walk proud and know that you are not alone. When we come together, we are unstoppable. And together we will reshape the world into one that embraces the beauty of every human being.”

Click through the gallery below to see more photos from the event.