Early in the morning on June 28, 1969, police in New York City raided the Stonewall Inn, an LGBTQ+ bar and nightclub. The following days’ protests – known as the Stonewall Riots – against this unprovoked treatment are widely considered the origin of the contemporary LGBTQ+ Rights Movement.
The transgender women of color who led these riots, like Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, are now larger-than-life figures in our history and heroes of our movement.
We celebrate Pride Month in June each year to honor them. Riots evolved over the decades into drag shows, parades and festivals, but the spirit of the season remains. Pride is still a protest.
This past legislative session, more anti-LGBTQ+ bills were introduced in state legislatures nationwide than ever before, most targeting transgender people, especially youth.
These young people are between four and six times more likely to die by suicide than their peers, more likely to be bullied, harassed and to become victims of violence. And it is not because of who they are, it’s because of how the world sees them, what the world tells them they must be.
Adults aren’t immune to these messages, and we face high levels of discrimination in every area of our lives. Pride is a protest, because it has to be.
Our existence is a revolution.
When we are told to be ashamed of ourselves, we protest. When politicians make efforts to rescind our already limited access to health care, to infringe upon our bodily autonomy, to silence our right to performance and expression, and to erase the history of our community, we protest.
We protest calls to burn Pride flags, or to harass performers at drag shows. We protest the increasing violence targeting our community, which resulted in stark tragedy in November 2022, when five of our siblings – Ashley Paugh, Kelly Loving, Raymond Green Vance, Daniel Aston and Derrick Rump – were murdered at Club Q in Colorado Springs.
But Pride is also a celebration, because it has to be.
When a young person comes to Inside Out’s community center to make friends and to learn more about themselves, we celebrate. When families come to our Pride: Inside and Out festival to show their children that they matter and they’re not alone, we celebrate.
When we have access to gender-affirming health care, we celebrate. When someone comes out at age 13 or age 75, we celebrate. When we succeed, we celebrate. When we are seen the way we see ourselves, we celebrate.
When our names and pronouns are honored, we celebrate. When we help each other, we celebrate. When our community holds us, especially when our biological families will not, we celebrate.
When we survive, we celebrate.
Because our existence is a revolution. Our existence is proof that anything is possible because we are possible, and we have futures, and families, and lives to live. These lives deserve to be protected, advocated for, treasured and, yes, celebrated.
We are proud, because we have to be. We are proud because we deserve to be.
Liss Smith is the communications & advocacy director for Inside Out Youth Services and a former Bulletin freelance writer.