Ron DeSantis’ decision to sign the bill into law, Larkins obtained permission from his teacher to give a presentation on the Stonewall Riots in their history class, knowing it could trigger backlash from school officials seeking to comply with the new law.Īccording to The Washington Post, which reported on the controversy over the video, Larkins’ teacher was initially not even aware of what the Stonewall Riots were.īecause the history class had been learning about pivotal historical events from the late 1960s and early 1970s, Larkins claimed to have asked his teacher, “Are we going to learn about Stonewall?” The teacher allegedly responded, “What’s Stonewall?” Redefining Activism by Kénta Xiadani Ch'umil kenta.Republican Says Civil Rights Don’t Apply To Gay Peopleįollowing Gov. LGBTQIA + Z the Bug Interview with Z Walsh, model (he/him) zthebugĪ Different Kind of Pride by Casey Tanner queersextherapy
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Tips for Allies: How to be a Better Advocate for the LGBTQ Community Race, Gender, and American Gynecology by Dr. Trans Equality Action Centers p rovides a comprehensive list of funds to donate to and bills under consideration where you can submit letters to state legislators or sign a petition)
Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF) Pride is, after all, a celebration of the right-and freedom-to live and love as we choose.
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We are all interconnected, but none of us can be truly free until everyone is free. White queer people and allies should be as loud and as proud about supporting Black liberation as LGBTQ+ liberation.
LGBTQ+ people of color must navigate a complicated network of systemic oppression on all sides, pushed to the fringes of both equality movements in the fight against homophobia and transphobia in Black communal spaces in addition to racism in all spaces. This revisionist history of shamelessly downplaying the role black queer people played in leading the riots further sediments the fact that the privileges white queer people benefit from in a white supremacist society will always outweigh the marginalization they experience due to queerness.Īlthough LGBTQ+ issues and racial justice are not mutually exclusive, the month of Pride has never truly embraced pride for queer Black people. Johnson - a self-identified drag queen & outspoken advocate & activist for gay liberation - is one of the most prominent figures in the Stonewall uprising of 1969. Within four years of Pride’s inception, “drag queens,” as transgender individuals were called then, were banned from the annual “gay” pride parade that Johnson and Rivera helped launch, the black trans* community and architects of the movement were all but erased.ĭespite being led by gender nonconforming people of color, the Stonewall Riots (and the subsequent LGBTQ+ rights movement we know today) have been whitewashed throughout queer history, its present focus on white gay-centered events far removed from its not-so-humble beginnings. Yet, like other movements fighting for equality, Pride has been marred in classism, elitism, and racism. A year later, the first annual Pride Parade wound its way through the city’s streets to commemorate this seminal uprising, marking the month of June as the month of Pride. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, Stormé DeLarverie, and Miss Major were on the frontlines of protesting against the police, effectively mobilizing the modern day LGBTQ+ rights movement. Black transgender and queer patrons like Marsha P. In the early morning of June 28, 1969, lower Manhattan descended into chaos as the police raided the New York City gay bar known as the Stonewall Inn. The synchronicity calls back to the radical roots of Pride itself: the Stonewall Riots of 1969, which serve as a stark reminder that Pride began not as a party, parade, or celebration, but a riot. This year, Pride is perhaps more profound than ever as it coincides with the ongoing protests against police brutality and riots fighting against systemic racism deeply rooted in the United States. Past years have bathed the world with colorful streams of rainbows and glitter to celebrate social progress and self-acceptance for queer folks. June marks the beginning of Pride - a month dedicated to honoring LGBTQ+ people, places, and things that affirm queer existence. Liberation for all bodies, everywhere is a work in progress. The ideas, however, hold just as true today as they did then. This article was originally published in June of 2020, amidst the beginning of the pandemic and the boom of #BlackLivesMatter protests.