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A Transgender Day of Remembrance memorial on Boston Common was “deliberately taken down” and removed without a trace this week, LGBTQ advocates said, prompting calls for a full hate-crime investigation and outrage over the city’s silence.
More than 425 trans flags, planted legally across from the State House to honor every known transgender and gender-expansive person killed since 2020, vanished sometime between Monday night and Tuesday morning. By dawn, organizers said, the memorial had been erased completely.
“This wasn’t random vandalism — it’s a hate crime,” the Queer Neighborhood Council said in a statement Thursday. “It echoes the same prejudice and violence TDOR exists to confront.”
The flags were installed Sunday by volunteers at the Queer Neighborhood Council. By Monday night, Executive Director Jack Imbergamo received an email saying multiple people were seen pulling up the flags and throwing them out. When he returned Tuesday morning, the lawn was spotless.
“It was like they were never there,” Imbergamo said.
The group immediately filed a report with Boston Police. As of Thursday, there was no confirmation of an active investigation, and no comment from Gov. Maura Healey, Mayor Michelle Wu, BPD, or Attorney General Andrea Campbell.
The silence has only sharpened frustration within Boston’s trans community.
“It’s discouraging that we can’t even honor our dead — and especially not this week,” Imbergamo said. “It’s heartbreaking to see that here.”
The disappearance comes during Transgender Awareness Week, in a year when Massachusetts officials have publicly condemned anti-trans rhetoric but have struggled to respond decisively when attacks occur.
Advocates note:
Boston just launched a new LGBTQIA2S+ community advisory council
A Massachusetts Commission member — a trans woman — faced death threats after right-wing media coverage
The Trump administration has spent 2025 rolling back federal protections for transgender Americans
Against that backdrop, LGBTQ leaders say the vanishing memorial isn’t just vandalism — it’s a test of the state’s resolve.
Rep. Ayanna Pressley condemned the removal as “absolutely despicable,” adding:
“Our trans siblings deserve to live safely — without fear of violence or hateful, cowardly acts like these.”
For organizers, the fear isn’t just the act itself — it’s the possibility that nothing happens next.
Queer Neighborhood Council members have discussed reinstalling the flags, though no decision has been made.
Imbergamo said he’s spending Transgender Day of Remembrance honoring those who were killed and recommitting to the work ahead.
“I’m a leader of a queer organization in America right now. My community feels very much under attack,” he said.
“Trans people exist, and we are not going anywhere.”
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