When Ty’Liauna Jackson moved to Fort Worth last year, they worried the historically conservative city wouldn’t be welcoming to their Black, trans masculine identity.
Marching through downtown Sunday afternoon, Jackson felt the support of a small but meaningful gathering of friends and community. It was one year since Jackson moved into their new home, and they were proud to march with their wife during Fort Worth’s inaugural Queer & Trans Liberation March.
“It might not be the entirety of Fort Worth, but we’re out here marching, so we’re showing people that we are here,” Jackson, 22, said as she trekked down Commerce Street. “And hopefully, other youth, especially, can see that and know that they have a place here to have a community (and) be themselves.”
Fort Worth resident Ty’Liauna Jackson marches down Main Street with a sign that reads “Black Trans Lives Matter” on March 22, 2026. (David Moreno | Fort Worth Report)
Organizers estimate about 100 demonstrators gathered outside the Tarrant County Courthouse on March 22 in support of LGBTQ rights. Bearing rainbow flags and affirming posters, the group traveled roughly 1.5 miles from downtown to the LGBTQ bar Liberty Lounge in the Near Southside, greeted by gusty winds and temperatures climbing into the 90s.
No disturbances were reported, Fort Worth police spokesperson Bradley Perez said via email.
The Queer and Trans Liberation March’s first demonstration last year in Dallas drew hundreds. Event founder Jacob Reyes said he created the march after President Donald Trump’s reelection to empower the LGBTQ community with hope and support.
Shortly after his second inauguration, Trump issued an executive order recognizing only two sexes, saying they are “not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality.”
Moving the event from Dallas to Fort Worth this year was intentional to spotlight Cowtown’s LGBTQ history and community, which Reyes said doesn’t get enough attention.
“If we’re able to bring the march and to gain some recognition for people who may not know much about Fort Worth, who have assumptions about what Fort Worth is, then that’s that’s important,” Reyes said.
Sunday’s demonstration was Fort Worth’s first in support of queer and trans rights, said Todd Camp, founder of the nonprofit YesterQueer, which documents LGBTQ history in Tarrant County.
Fort Worth LGBTQ leader Aubrey Campos speaks to demonstrators at the Tarrant County Courthouse before the march begins on March 22, 2026. (David Moreno | Fort Worth Report)
Aubrey Campos, who many call the “mother” of Fort Worth’s LGBTQ community, helped organize the march’s move to Cowtown because she believes the city needs more advocacy following local controversies surrounding LGBTQ rights.
Last July, Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare shut down efforts for a historical marker recognizing Fort Worth’s LGBTQ history at the former site of the Rainbow Lounge in the Near Southside. In a letter to state officials at the time, he said the process to seek the marker was not followed. LGBTQ leaders denied that claim, saying O’Hare acted outside of his purview to cancel the project.
Organizers kept the Sunday event’s location secret until the day before out of safety precautions, said Campos, a transgender woman. She and Reyes said they were nervous the event wouldn’t attract much support, noting that unlike Dallas’ Oak Lawn, Fort Worth lacks a prominent LGBTQ neighborhood or district.
“Right now, where we’re at politically, we’re going in the ‘right’ direction,” Campos said of Fort Worth. “We actually have the support. It’s obviously never going to be Dallas. They have like 10 gay bars, and we have three.”
Dallas resident Viola Gonzalez, 30, joined the demonstration because, “We live in the age of fascism, and our rights have been taken away each day,” she said. Gonzalez, who is transgender, never attended a protest before Sunday out of safety concerns and fear of discrimination.
“If they’re gonna come and get me, I might as well just go down doing what I believed was right rather than just sitting down and dying and believing that maybe one day somebody will just do the job for me,” Gonzalez said.
Arlington resident Mark Gist carries an upside down American and LGBTQ flag at the Queer and Trans Liberation March in Fort Worth on March 22, 2026. (David Moreno | Fort Worth Report)
Mark Gist, 65, carried an upside down American flag with red and white stripes that merged into rainbow colors. His wife, Belinda Gist, 54, wore a rainbow-color witch’s hat, plus bright pink overalls and a blue shirt to represent the colors of the transgender flag. She carried a sign reading, “You will have to go through me.”
The Arlington couple is not part of the LGBTQ community, they said, but attended the demonstration as allies in support of their transgender child.
“It doesn’t matter if we’re sitting in our living room thinking the queer community should be protected,” Belinda Gist said. “I think you’re gonna have to put your money where your mouth is, so to speak.”
To Jackson, Sunday’s demonstration was about building visibility.
“This is our community. We’re here to show out, show support, let them know that we’re here,” Jackson said. “I might not know anybody’s name, but I know we’re friends.”
Standing outside the county courthouse, Sharon Herrera urged listeners to proudly and publicly embrace the LGBTQ community, and to think of who’s watching: Fort Worth’s youth. She is the founder and executive director of LGBTQ Saves, a nonprofit focused on ending suicide among LGBTQ children and teens.
“We are here today to say, ‘Please stay.’ To every queer and trans young person watching and listening, please stay,” Herrera said. “Stay to see the person you will become. Stay to see the community waiting to catch you, and stay because this world is only complete with you in it.”
Cecilia Lenzen is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at cecilia.lenzen@fortworthreport.org.
David Moreno is the arts and culture reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at david.moreno@fortworthreport.org or @davidmreports.
The Fort Worth Report’s arts and culture coverage is supported in part by the Meta Alice Keith Bratten Foundation and the Virginia Hobbs Charitable Trust. At the Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
This <a target=”_blank” href=”https://fortworthreport.org/2026/03/22/lgbtq-demonstrators-march-for-queer-and-trans-liberation-in-downtown-fort-worth/”>article</a> first appeared on <a target=”_blank” href=”https://fortworthreport.org”>Fort Worth Report</a> and is republished here under a <a target=”_blank” href=”https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/”>Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License</a>.<img src=”https://i0.wp.com/fortworthreport.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/cropped-favicon.png?resize=150%2C150&quality=80&ssl=1″ style=”width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;”>
<img id=”republication-tracker-tool-source” src=”https://fortworthreport.org/?republication-pixel=true&post=454667&ga4=2820184429″ style=”width:1px;height:1px;”><script> PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: “https://fortworthreport.org/2026/03/22/lgbtq-demonstrators-march-for-queer-and-trans-liberation-in-downtown-fort-worth/”, urlref: window.location.href }); } } </script> <script id=”parsely-cfg” src=”//cdn.parsely.com/keys/fortworthreport.org/p.js”></script>