A Rainbow of Resistance

Boston Pride’s 2018 community-chosen theme is Rainbow Resistance. It’s an apt choice in light of the attacks our community, particularly queer people of color and trans people, is facing here in Massachusetts and beyond. The theme is infused into every aspect of this year’s Boston Pride Guide, beginning with the cover, which prominently features fists raised in the universal symbol of resistance – a protest piece against the oppressive immigration policies of the current administration. The cover is both personal and communal, exploring artist Maynor Campos’ unique, yet familiar, experience as a queer immigrant, and honoring the importance of keeping our movement intersectional. The image is a dynamic addition to our series of locally made cover art and an excellent successor to Louisa Bertman’s androgynous embrace, which has been selected for inclusion in the 37 th volume of American Illustration as one of the best editorial works of 2017.

From our inaugural issue in 2015, the Pride Guide has fueled resistance by providing a platform that well over 100 people and organizations within the community have leveraged to educate and inspire action. The 2018 volume – the luminous yellow addition to the Guide’s progressive rainbow-banded bindings – sheds light on local acts of Rainbow Resistance: Suffolk Law’s efforts to combat transgender housing discrimination and Boston Pride Grand Marshal Freedom for All Massachusetts’ campaign to protect transgender public accommodations rights, which are at risk of being eliminated this November. We explore the different forms that resistance can take across the nation, from queer-focused gun control protests that reprise ACT UP’s brand of political performance art, to collaboration with unlikely allies to establish a LGBTQ center in rural Indiana. The mere act of staging and attending a Pride celebration can be an act of resistance in less queer-friendly countries like Suriname, and local activists can have an international impact, as demonstrated by a former Boston Pride volunteer’s endeavor to restore marriage equality in his home country of Bermuda.

The current volume also celebrates smaller, more personal acts of resistance. Coming out is one of the bravest individual acts of resistance, particularly in rural Appalachia. Indeed, not long ago, Boston was a far more difficult place to be out, as exemplified by the life of Charlie Gibson, founder of the Gibson House Museum. Yet, coming out is not limited to sexual orientation and gender identity; it also includes the quest for spaces where our intersectional identities can be embraced in their entirety. Whether raising culturally queer children, challenging oppressive institutions like the Church, or embracing body positivity, our contributors are embodying the spirit of Rainbow Resistance.

The Guide wouldn’t be complete without our comprehensive, straight-from-the-source listing of all official Pride Week events, including our newly minted Pride Sports program and the continued expansion of Pride Arts. As the Pride Movement continues to flourish, we are seeing an increasing number of new Prides develop across New England, over 20 of which are present in our useful directory of Sister Prides.

The participation of nearly 100 businesses, nonprofit organizations, and candidates for elected office as advertisers in the Guide demonstrates the positive evolution of our movement: it shows that our Rainbow Resistance has succeeded in driving visibility, acceptance, and equality in broader society. However, the fight is far from over. Not only are we battling to protect the rights we have gained as a community, we are also engaged on new fronts. The expansion of religious accommodation laws, particularly as they impact healthcare, is a threat to queer people everywhere. Sex workers, disproportionately members of the queer community, are facing heightened policing. Income inequality is worsening and many states still lack LGBTQ employment protections, making it increasingly important to highlight the contributions of queer workers. Queer immigrants are facing increasingly outrageous attacks from the current administration. While we have won many battles, our continued Rainbow Resistance remains as imperative as ever.