More than a hundred people marched toward Astoria Boulevard on June 17 to denounce the Christopher Columbus statue as a “symbol of genocide” and demand for it to be removed. The protest, organized by Queens-based group Justice for George Queens, began at Astoria Park’s War Memorial.

The organizers hoped to show solidarity with Black and Indigenous people who’ve struggled with colonialism for centuries, as well as to bring attention to Black trans lives lost to hate and police brutality. Trasonia Abbott, one of the protest’s leaders, began with a meditation followed by a land acknowledgement in support of Black lives in Lenapehoking (the traditional homeland of the Lenape people, which includes New York City) written by writer and photographer Joe Whittle.