New London ― The petals of 28 white roses, each representing a transgender or non-binary person of color killed by violence in the last year, fluttered gently on a makeshift altar Wednesday in front of City Hall where supporters issued a rallying cry for action.

Speakers at OutCt’s fourth annual “Everyone Deserves Pride” event alternately lamented and railed against what they called a pervasive atmosphere of intolerance directly responsible for so many of their siblings’ deaths.

“We’re here to commemorate and pay respects to the (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) who died violently within our walls of the United States,” group President Cecil Carter said, describing the demographic as one specifically targeted and “denied human basic rights.”

Carter called on the crowd of 20 attendees to become allies and “fiercely support, uplift and advocate for change.”

Chevelle Moss-Savage, OutCT vice president and chairwoman of the group’s educational committee, which planned the vigil, said she began the event four years ago to address the lack of attention given to the often-perilous plight of Black and brown transgender and non-binary individuals.

She said the event is purposely held every June 28 to mark the anniversary of the Stonewall Inn riots, a series of protests in New York City sparked 54 years ago by Marsha Johnson, a Black transgender woman, that brought national attention to the inequities suffered by members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Moss-Savage, who could not attend Wednesday’s vigil, said the month of June, recognized as Pride Month, too often sanitizes the struggle of those it seeks to honor, especially people of color.

“It’s a lot of ‘Happy Pride’ and rainbows without understanding the struggle Black and brown transgender people have had to endure just to exist,” she said. “This event is our way of paying tribute to them, a group dying at an alarming rate. The average age of death for members of that group is 34, meaning a 17-year-old is already middle aged.”

Moss-Savage, a licensed counselor, said this year has been a particularly fraught one for transgender individuals who’ve been the focus of renewed anger and intimidation by opposition groups.

The vigil was attended by state Rep. Anthony Nolan, D-New London, city councilor James Burke and Mayor Michael Passero. In his remarks, Passero admitted to being befuddled by polices enacted in states such as Florida and Texas that he said actively strip LGBTQ+ individuals of basic human rights and, in some cases, denies “people their very lives.”

During his keynote address, city Poet Laureate Joshua Brown said the lives of LGBTQ+ individuals have for too long been “dissected, scrutinized, and demonized” by heterosexuals. He said historical antagonization by government and police officials too often ended with violence.

“And, in many cases, murder,” Brown said.

As the 28 names of those killed by violence since last year’s vigil were intoned, participants draped roses affixed with each victim’s name and photo onto a clothed table. A pride progress flag was hoisted into the air to the echo of applause.

Carter said he hoped the ceremony would remind the community of the often-fatal dangers faced by minority transgender and nonconforming individuals.

“The community needs to see that things are not OK,” he said. “We need as much help as possible to make (the number of deaths) go down. This should be a wake-up call.”

j.penney@theday.com