‘The trans community is resilient:’ Transgender people, allies rally for rights in DeKalb

DeKALB – Dozens of people rallied in support of transgender rights Sunday in downtown DeKalb, and many said they fear for their right to simply exist in the U.S.

Eli Marbutt, 18, told the crowd they identify as a transgender nonconformist. They said they believe a portion of the country’s population wants to “eradicate” transgender people.

The Cortland teenager said they found being honest about their gender identity to be an isolating experience. That’s until they found a community who accepted them.

“They want to make us feel like we have nothing, but look around you. We have the most important thing,” Marbutt said. “We have community, we have love, we have each other, and that is something they can never take away from us. We have been here since the beginning of time and we will continue to be here until the Earth burns down around us.”

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Theo Baired of Malta speaks during a Trans Resilience Rally held on Sunday, June 22, 2025, in downtown DeKalb. Organizers said the rally was to show public support for people they believe are unjustly and harmfully targeted under President Donald Trump's policies. (David Toney for Shaw Local News /David Toney)

Marbutt said they are associated with Youth Outlook, a Naperville-based social service nonprofit social service dedicated to LGBTQ+ youth. While Marbutt attended Sunday’s rally, meant to drum up public support for transgender people who organizers said are suffering under President Donald Trump’s policies, another led efforts to put the event together.

That person is Killian Becker, 29, of DeKalb. Becker said they organized the rally to help transgender people in DeKalb find a supportive community.

“I really want to uplift and amplify trans voices,” Becker said. “Obviously, right now we are a vulnerable community. So, it’s really important to show up, show resilience, especially in the face of larger political conversations.”

Political conversations have grown increasingly volatile as Trump’s efforts to target minority groups evolve. In his first months back in office, Trump has erased mention of transgender people on government websites and passports and tried to remove them from the military, among other tactics he used on the campaign trail to sway voter support.

The rally was co-sponsored by Queer-Oriented Rural Resource Network, Youth Outlook, DeKalb Pride, Safe Passage, Family Service Agency and First Congregational United Church of Christ, organizers said.

Becker said they think being a visible part of the DeKalb area is the most important thing they can do to support the local transgender community.

When asked what they would say to someone who doesn’t support transgender rights, Bridget Johnson of DeKalb said she would want to say that she believes an important part of being a respectful friend and neighbor means not actively going against the needs of others.

“The trans community is resilient. No matter how many times they’ve tried to erase us throughout history it has never worked.”

—  Killian Becker

“I think it’s our duty as humans to love one another, and to be thoughtful of those that may live different lives than what we are currently living,” Johnson said.

The crowd that gathered to support transgender rights was largely comprised of young adults, but people of all ages were present.

Jeff Strack and Mary Lu Strack, a married couple of 70 years, were among the oldest people to join the rally.

Jeff Strack, 91, said he’s happy LGBTQIA+ rights have grown over the course of his lifetime. But he said he doesn’t think people in those circles are given an equal place in society compared to cisgender – a person whose gender identity corresponds with the sex assigned at birth – and heterosexual people.

“Things are improved but they have a long way to go yet,” Strack said.

Mary Lu, 89, said she and her husband joined the rally Sunday because they have children and grandchildren who identify as lesbian, gay, straight and transgender, and wanted to show their support.

Jennifer Bastian, a transgender person who prefers genderless pronouns, also attended Sunday. Bastian said they think there’s a lot of miscommunication and stigma associated with the transgender community which can lead to misunderstandings.

Bastian said they fear for the well-being of transgender people after it was reported days ago that the 988 National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline will stop providing tailored support options to LGBTQ+ youth and young adults on July 17, according to a statement on a federal agency’s website.

The decision preempts the Trump administration’s 2026 budget proposal to cut funding for 988’s LGBTQ+ youth and young adult services, and is raising alarm bells among LGBTQ+ advocates, The Associated Press reported.

Federal data shows the LGBTQ+ youth program has served nearly 1.3 million callers since it started in September 2022. The services were accessible under the “Press 3” option on the phone or by replying “PRIDE” via text.

“It’s important for us to recognize that people are still dying today, every day,” Bastain said. “Anything that’s going to not protect our rights means that we’re all not safe, because it’s a trickle-down effect. The same thing happened with the Nazis. Who did they go for first? They went for the sexual minorities.”

Thousands of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people were arrested and thrown into concentration camps during Adolf Hitler’s 1933-1945 dictatorship, based on anti-homosexuality laws that preceded and outlasted the Nazi era, the AP reported.

Becker said they don’t think any government can truly get rid of transgender people.

“The trans community is resilient. No matter how many times they’ve tried to erase us throughout history it has never worked,” Becker said. “When we show up, and we’re showing visibility and we’re standing together as a support, we really are embodying the history of DeKalb pride and just of the Pride movement in and of itself.”

The pro-transgender rally took place a day after families descended on downtown DeKalb for the city’s annual DeKalb Pride Festival and march.

The Rev. John Dorhauer of First Congregational United Church of Christ was one of the dozens of people who said they were not transgender but attended the rally to support transgender rights.

Dorhauer, who began serving the DeKalb church in October 2023, said he was there to atone for what he views as the church’s previous harmful behavior toward the transgender community.

“I am a ordained minister in a church that made many of you feel like [expletive],“ Dorhauer said, ”for which I apologize."

The Associated Press contributed to this story.