A LETTER TO THE COMMUNITY

from Stonewall Columbus Pride Guide 2023

ABOUT STONEWALL COLUMBUS

FIFTY YEARS AGO, THE LGBTQ+ COMMUNITY IN NEW YORK'S GREENWICH VILLAGE SPARKED A PIVOTAL MOMENT IN HISTORY. THE STONEWALL UPRISING WAS BORN OUT OF A REFUSAL TO SURRENDER TO YET ANOTHER POLICE RAID ON THE STONEWALL INN. IN THAT ACT OF REBELLION AGAINST A SYSTEM THAT DENIED THEIR EXISTENCE, THEY IGNITED THE MODERN MOVEMENT FOR LGBTQ+ RIGHTS.

THE 1969 STONEWALL UPRISINGS WERE NOT JUST PROTESTS AGAINST POLICE BRUTALITY; THEY REPRESENTED THE COLLECTIVE FRUSTRATION OF A COMMUNITY SUBJECTED TO INJUSTICE. THIS YEAR, AS WE GATHER TO FOR THE STONEWALL COLUMBUS 2023 PRIDE FESTIVAL AND MARCH, OUR THEME RESONATES: “PURPOSE. PASSION. POWER.”

PURPOSE REMINDS US THAT LGBTQ+ PRIDE IS NOT JUST A PERSONAL JOURNEY; IT IS PART OF AMERICAN HISTORY. WHILE LGBTQ+ HISTORY HAS OFTEN BEEN OVERLOOKED, WE MUST WORK TO SHARE THE STORIES OF THOSE WHO HAVE SHAPED OUR NATION'S NARRATIVE. THE STONEWALL UPRISING ITSELF IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF AMERICAN HISTORY—A PROTEST AGAINST POLICE BRUTALITY AND AN OUTCRY AGAINST THE INJUSTICES FACED BY THE LGBTQ+ COMMUNITY.

PASSION DRIVES US TO CREATE A MORE INCLUSIVE PRIDE. WE RECOGNIZE THAT OUR CELEBRATION OF PRIDE HAS NOT ALWAYS BEEN INCLUSIVE OF ALL MARGINALIZED INTERSECTIONAL IDENTITIES. AS WE CONTINUE TO EVOLVE AND FIGHT FOR EQUITY AND LIBERATION, WE STRIVE TO UPLIFT EVERY INDIVIDUAL WITHIN OUR DIVERSE LGBTQ+ COMMUNITY. OUR PASSION LIES IN EMBRACING AND EMPOWERING ALL THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN HISTORICALLY MARGINALIZED.

POWER IS OUR COLLECTIVE STRENGTH. THE LGBTQ+ COMMUNITY ENCOMPASSES A TAPESTRY OF IDENTITIES—RACE, COLOR, RELIGION, GENDER, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, GENDER IDENTITY, GENDER EXPRESSION, AGE, ANCESTRY, NATIONAL ORIGIN, AND DIFFERENT ABILITIES. OVER THE PAST FIFTY-FOUR YEARS, WE HAVE OVERCOME IMMENSE CHALLENGES, FROM FIGHTING SODOMY LAWS TO BATTLING THE HIV/AIDS EPIDEMIC, CHALLENGING DISCRIMINATORY MARRIAGE LAWS, AND ADVOCATING FOR PROTECTIONS UNDER TITLE VII. IN THE FACE OF BIGOTRY, OUR PERSISTENCE ENDURES AND EMPOWERS US.

WE MUST NOT FORGET THAT DISCRIMINATION STILL EXISTS IN OUR STATE. LGBTQ+ INDIVIDUALS CAN BE DENIED HOUSING, EMPLOYMENT, AND BASIC RIGHTS SOLELY BECAUSE OF THEIR SEXUAL ORIENTATION OR GENDER IDENTITY. THIS FUELS OUR DETERMINATION TO MAKE OUR VOICES HEARD AND STAND ALONGSIDE OUR BIPOC AND TRANSGENDER COMMUNITY MEMBERS. WE STAND UNITED IN DEMANDING INCLUSION, FULL ENFRANCHISEMENT, AND EQUALITY BEFORE THE LAW.

AS WE GATHER, LET US HONOR THOSE WHO HAVE FOUGHT FOR OUR RIGHTS AND CONTINUE TO FIGHT FOR A MORE JUST AND EQUAL SOCIETY— FOR THOSE FIGHTING FOR OUR LIBERATION. TOGETHER, WE CELEBRATE THE PROGRESS WE HAVE MADE AND RECOGNIZE THE WORK THAT LIES AHEAD. WE CREATE SAFER SPACES FOR ALL WHO WILL FOLLOW, LIVING AUTHENTICALLY AND UNAPOLOGETICALLY. IN OUR DIVERSITY, WE FIND STRENGTH, AND IN THIS MOMENT, WE RAISE OUR VOICES AND PROUDLY DECLARE PRIDE IS OUR PURPOSE, PASSION, AND POWER!

HAPPY PRIDE!

-STONEWALL COLUMBUS’ BOARD OF TRUSTEES AND STAFF