Hundreds of transgender pride flags were stolen from a memorial at the Boston Common during Transgender Awareness Week, organizers said.
Each flag represented a life lost to violence, according to The Queer Neighborhood Council, which planted the flags ahead of the annual awareness week, which ran from Nov. 13 to Nov. 19.
But the council learned Monday that the flags had been “deliberately taken down,” the group said on Instagram.
“TQNC vehemently condemns this hateful act of vandalism committed against our Trans Flag Memorial,” the group said Thursday.
The approximately 400 pink, blue and white flags were meant to be displayed through Thursday, Nov. 20, which is Transgender Day of Remembrance, the council said on Instagram.
“This acts is not simple vandalism,” the group said, calling the flags’ removal a “hate crime” that “directly echoes the very violence and prejudice that [Transgender Day of Remembrance] was established to condemn.”
The council said it had a permit from the city to display the flags on the Common. Over the years, other groups have also displayed hundreds of flags to raise awareness for different causes, such as drug overdose deaths.
“This attack will not silence us,” the group said. “It only strengthens our resolve to fight for a future where every trans person can live openly, safely and with dignity.”
While Boston is known as a progressive city, LGBTQ advocates have warned of an uptick in vandalism against Pride flags. This fall, a flag was torn down from outside an LGBTQ-owned Roslindale shop. Elsewhere in the city, flags were removed from private homes and in one case, set on fire.
Claire Thornton can be reached at claire.thornton@globe.com. Follow Claire on X @claire_thornto.
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