We Can Manage in Places Not Designed for Us – Unified in Faith, Rooted in Revolution, Rising Together.
On a powerful Friday morning, June 6, 2025, the sanctuary of National City Christian Church in Washington, DC, was bathed in light—sunlight pouring through stained glass windows and Spirit light radiating from every pew and pulpit. The grand church, draped in the vibrant hues of the rainbow flag, became holy ground for a rising revolution. It was day two of the sixth annual National Trans Visibility March (NTVM), and the people gathered for the Empowerment Interfaith Worship Service. They weren’t just attendees, they were witnesses. They were warriors. They were worshipers unified in faith, rooted in revolution, and rising together.
In the center of it all stood Rev. Elder Carmarion D. Anderson-Harvey—a Black transgender woman of faith, a prophetic voice within the transgender community, and a fierce truth-teller for such a time as this.
As the crowd of transgender, nonbinary, intersex people and their allies leaned in, Rev. Carmarion declared a message that tore through spiritual ceilings and shattered societal lies: “We can manage in places not designed for us.”
Her voice was steady. Her cadence, powerful. Her presence, anointed. With the boldness of the prophets and the clarity of the gospel, she named what so many have felt but often lacked the space to say:
“Policies have been passed to erase our existence… yet here we are, standing firm in our truth.”
The sanctuary shook. Not from earthquakes or organ swells but from the collective “yes” of people who knew exactly what she meant. A people who’ve survived despite the systems. A people who have not just endured the margins—but claimed them as sacred spaces of resilience. Rev. Carmarion reached into the sacred story of Scripture and drew a parallel between Pharaoh’s fear of the Israelites in Egypt and the systemic efforts today to stifle trans and nonbinary power in America. She reminded us: “This is what happens when those in power fear the divine image in marginalized people.”
And let the record show: she didn’t flinch.
She didn’t water it down.
She didn’t preach comforts; she preached liberation.
In that moment, she wasn’t just giving a sermon. She was handing out marching orders, fueling a freedom movement, and breaking spiritual chains and legislative lies all in one breath. She looked out at the community and said what too many pulpits are afraid to say: “We didn’t travel all the way to Washington, DC, to sit silently while the world legislates our erasure.” That was the sound of revolution wrapped in robes. That was Pentecost power with protest fire. That embodied being Unified in Faith, Rooted in Revolution, and Rising Together.
As NVTM’s National Director for Faith-Based and Wellness Initiatives, Rev. Carmarion wasn’t just fulfilling a role, she was answering a divine call. Her words became wind—blowing through dry bones and breathing life into the weary. And by the time the benediction rang out, the people weren’t leaving as they came. They were standing taller. Speaking louder. Loving deeper. Because on that June morning, we remembered the truth we’ve always known but needed to hear again: We can manage in places not designed for us—because we were never called to fit in. We were called to rise.
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