Living Out Loud: Embracing Our Pride and Legacy

Pride is protest…but we must also accept pride for all the other things it is as well.

• Pride is a promise to each other in the queer community to…
• Show up for each other;
• To make space for each other;
• To fight for each other;
• But most importantly to keep each other safe.

I am acutely aware of the immense responsibility and weight on my shoulders to ensure the safety of all those in the community during our Pride march and festival.

The Stonewall Uprisings, ignited in the face of police brutality and societal indifference, taught us that our voices, when united, demand change and command attention. This year we not only embrace our theme, we embody its essence.

We will live out loud–we will reflect on the power of our collective voice and the strength found in our shared purpose.

To live out loud is to channel the defiant joy of those first warriors of Stonewall, who, in the face of brutality, chose to stand tall, to love boldly, and to demand the world’s attention. Their legacy, our beacon, guides us through the tempest of prejudice and inequality, reminding us that our voices, resonant and strong, carry the power to shatter the shackles of ignorance.

We are navigating through an era when our rights and identities are under increased scrutiny and challenge. Legislative assaults on our existence continue to surge, with anti-LGBTQI+ bills reaching unprecedented numbers. Yet, our resolve has only strengthened, our unity fortified by the adversities we face.

We will live with unyielding pride—we will carry the torch of those trailblazers who paved the way with their courage and unbreakable will.

To live out loud with pride every day is to embrace the legacy of those early champions of our movement, who transformed adversity into strength, fear into defiance. Our commitment is to ensure that their sacrifices are not forgotten but are honored and built upon. Our voices, resolute and clear, continue to break barriers and forge paths towards inclusivity, equality, and equity.

We navigate through changing times, facing new challenges with the wisdom of our past and the hope of our future. The legislative landscapes may shift, but our foundation remains firm: the pursuit of a society where everyone can express themselves freely and fearlessly. Our pride is not confined to a month but is a continuous fight for justice and an ongoing celebration of our diverse identities.

The LGBTQ+ community spans race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, ancestry, national origin, and different abilities. Over a period of more than fifty years, our community has banded together to fight against some of the most challenging situations of many of our lifetimes. Our continued existence is our resistance; living out loud is our pride.

We must always remember that our recognition of Pride was not always seen as celebratory. For a long time, our celebration of our Pride was seen as a radical assault on normative values and did not include marginalized intersectional identities. But as we have come to know better, we must strive to do better, to find more ways to be inclusive. The evolution of our fight means that we must work to include the most of us, and not just some of us, as we push for equity, equality, and liberation for the intersectional identities among us.

In the spirit of those who have lived, loved, and fought before us, let us embrace the legacy of our past, revel in the triumphs of the present, and march boldly into the future, our voices united in a resounding declaration that we are here, we are proud, and we will live out loud for all the world to see and hear.

Happy Pride!