Sean Connell, a Fall River resident who spoke at the memorial event on behalf of local organizers, opened by identifying as trans and nonbinary and saying he had received a death threat while preparing for the ceremony. "In preparing for tonight, my very life was threatened," Connell said, and he urged the crowd to support one another and to connect people who feel unsafe with local resources.

Several people shared personal testimony. An unnamed participant described discovering the term agender while researching transgender bathroom rights in school, saying it "immediately clicked" and recounting the fear and relief of coming out to family and peers. Another speaker recited a poem about living in a body that does not feel like one’s own and the longing for everyday freedoms such as swimming without a binder.

Event organizers framed the gathering as a memorial and a way to make community connections. Connell reminded attendees that the names to be read would cover deaths recorded in the United States in the prior 12 months and invited Rachel Loomis, identified in the program as the pride secretary, to read the list. "This year's lost list is as follows," Loomis said before reading dozens of names.

Speakers repeatedly rejected characterizations they said circulated online, including what Connell described as lies that accused participants of inappropriate behavior at youth events. "That is the level of lies and rumor making that we are up against every single day," he said, adding that such rhetoric contributes to stigma and violence against transgender and gender-nonconforming people.

Organizers also placed the local event in broader context. Speakers noted that while some countries allow same-sex marriage, many jurisdictions still criminalize or punish gender diversity; one speaker summarized the group’s research as "approximately 30-ish countries allow us to get married, and approximately 70-ish countries jail, fine or execute us." They emphasized that the memorial was intended to recognize lives lost and to offer support rather than to seek special rights.

After the list was read, the group observed a candlelit moment of silence and planned to raise a trans flag at half-mast "in accordance with Massachusetts regulations," organizers said, noting the flag would remain displayed in the city for the week along with an art exhibit. The event closed with organizers inviting attendees to reach out to the pride committee for resources and support.

The memorial did not include any formal votes or policy actions; organizers described it as a community remembrance and resource connection opportunity. The full names read aloud were presented as those known to the organizers in the U.S. over the past 12 months; the group said a longer, more exhaustive list is available online.