The first-ever Pride was a fire. A fire ignited by the spark that was the Stonewall riots.

50 years of marching. 50 years of fighting. 50 years marked with unbearable loss, and unbelievable victory. James Baldwin once said that “People are trapped in history and history is trapped in them.”

When you celebrate Pride you celebrate the queer people of color who risked everything for our future. You celebrate every single queer person erased from the history books.

You celebrate the butch lesbians and the fearless femmes, the leather men and the go-go boys, the blood sisters, and the drag queens. You celebrate the tireless activists and the marginalized sex workers.

You celebrate Harvey. You celebrate Marsha and you celebrate Sylvia. You celebrate Edith Windsor and Bayard Rustin. You celebrate Matthew Shepard and Tyler Clementi. You celebrate Larry.

You celebrate every life we lost to HIV/AIDS, and you celebrate those who fought tirelessly to help them. You celebrate the countless trans women — especially trans women of color — whose lives are still being cut short.

You celebrate those we lost at Pulse. You celebrate the queer people who struggle every day in countries that would exile, imprison, or murder them for simply being who they are.

⠀
Everywhere we look we see fear and uncertainty. As we step into unknown territory, we are reminded that LGBTQ+ people have never followed the paths laid by convention.

50 years after the first Pride parade, we are called to take a stand for our black brothers and sisters. When we look back at this moment, what story will we tell and who will we celebrate?

Audre Lorde once said that “Revolution is not a one-time event.” There will always be more Stonewalls. More sparks to ignite a fire in our hearts. Don’t let the fire go out.
⠀
Happy Pride.

#pride #PRIDE2020 #PrideMonth

by @iamraynbow