Pride events are a beautiful and complex union of celebration and resistance. Over the decades, Pride festivals and parades have done so much for visibility, community organizing, and bringing LGBTQ issues and achievements into the spotlight.
This year is a very unique moment in the same struggle. We’re currently inspired by Pride Hamilton’s recent statement, “Pride Started as a Riot” – you can see it at https://www.pridehamilton.com/
Our communities and allies are rising up against racism, and coping with the COVID-19 pandemic. June is also National Indigenous History Month. Pride has never been exclusive, and needs always to be built on a consciousness of interconnected equity struggles.
So this year, we and allies are paying better attention to intersectionality and the origins of Pride – which began with the
activism of black trans women including Marsha P. Johnson. We encourage members to learn more about the history of the LGBTQ equity struggle – it’s far deeper and more complex than what you see in the mainstream coverage of Pride events.