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Do you know the origins of pride month or the pride parade? Do you know pride month commemorated the Stonewall riots? Well, this was an important part of the LGBTQ2S+ rights movement, but there is this and much more to the story that contributes to LGBTQ2S+ rights in the past, both before and after the Stonewall riots, and in the present as well. First, let’s talk about the Stonewall riots.
In June of 1969, the Stonewall riots occurred in New York City’s Stonewall Inn, a bar that many LGBTQ2S+ people frequented. The Stonewall Inn often had raids, but on this particular day, the raid resulted in the identification of people through IDs, and in turn, the arrest of many trans individuals. This upset and angered some patrons. Reports remain a little unclear, but this day, rather spontaneously, a riot broke out in front of the Stonewall Inn and down Christopher Street. Police barricaded themselves in the Stonewall Inn, and the Inn was attempted to be lit on fire. Eventually, the fire department put out the fire, got the people from within the Inn, and dispersed the crowd. Six days of riots occurred on Christopher Street (where the Stonewall Inn was located) and its nearby park.
Though the actual act of the riot was spontaneous, it is important to know that there was a historic background of LGBTQ2S+ rights movements and actions before the Stonewall riot occurred. Even though the Stonewall riots did not start the gay rights movement, it was a large force in pushing forward activism and lead to events like pride month and the pride parade! On March 281970, thousands of people marched from the Stonewall Inn to Central Park, which became the first pride parade, organized by BIPOC, trans individuals.
The less spoken about history with the Stonewall Inn and the Stonewall riots is the prevalence and importance of black trans women in this movement. These women play integral parts in the Stonewall riots and within the gay rights movement and LGBTQ2S+ rights movements. For many years the roles of these black trans women have been underplayed in the storytelling of the Stonewall riots and in LGBTQ2S+ rights movements, despite the belief that the riots would not have occurred without the actions of some of these black trans women.
Intersectionality is defined as the ways in which each person’s multiple identities interrelate and interact with each other creating their own unique pattern and systems of discrimination. Intersectionality played a major role in not only the Stonewall riots but in the LGBTQ2S+ rights movements. Black and Latins LGBTQ2S+ activists have and still are at the forefront of the fight for equity. These individuals are also continuing to experience harm, including the rates of murder of black transgender women being disproportionately high. This is why intersectionality is such a valuable part of these rights movements and making real change.
Today these rights are still needing to be fought for as LGBTQ2S+ individuals struggle with oppression, over experiencing harm, and discrimination. Things like the pride parade originated as ways to fight for these rights and get the knowledge out there. But in more recent years, the pride parade and pride month have become highly commercialized. Companies now use pride month as a place to gain profits and appear supportive. Despite this, many of these same companies are supporting, funding, or getting funding from other groups or organizations that go against the rights of LGBTQ2S+ individuals or not supporting their LGBTQ2S+ employees. How can these companies support both pride and do these actions against pride? Pride month is becoming more of a way for companies to gain profits and is less focused on the rights movement it was initially started upon.
So, what can you do? Well, there are many steps you can take to open the door to LGBTQ2S+ activism or support. With pride month upon us, let’s look at how we can make changes this month.
1. Take time to research the origins of pride month and the pride parade as well as the LGBTQ2S+ rights movement (See resources below).
2. Inform- use things like social media platforms to post lesser-known information about pride and share how people can stand up to help- like sharing about intersectionality.
3. Email your MPP or other government officials about creating more equity for LGBTQ2S+ individuals.
4. Email businesses around you who are promoting pride month, requesting they take further steps to promote LGBTQ2S+ rights, like not funding businesses that go against these rights.
5. Support local LGBTQ2S+ rights organizations and movements through donations or volunteering.
There are lots of reasons to continue or start LGBTQ2S+ activism, and this month, taking time to learn and make changes will help better support and further the work to end oppression and discrimination against LGBTQ2S+ individuals. Below you will find a mock email template for emailing your MPP or other officials, and a mock template for emailing businesses. You will also find some more resources to help you, or others learn more or find new information around pride month and the pride parade and the LGBTQ2S+ rights movements.
Emails:
How you write one yourself
- Open with a professional sign on, addressing your specific MPPs name, or a company name
- Introduce yourself, and what you do- whether in school or your profession
What the topic or issue is
- Paragraph 1- explain the issue- imagine they know nothing about it
- Paragraph 2- how the issue affects others and those around you, or you
- Paragraph 3- what you want done or changed
- Sign off, thanking them for listening to your concerns, and saying you look forward to a reply
- Use a professional signoff with your name like “sincerely” – also use an e-signature if possible.
Expect your reply to come from someone who works with or for your MPP or local representative, not the MPP themselves. Same goes for companies, you likely will not get a response from the owner.
You can find your MPP and their contact information at this website:
https://www.ola.org/en/members/current/contact-information
Find companies sponsoring pride month here:
https://www.pridetoronto.com/pride-toronto/sponsors/
Email for Government Officials:
****(Fill in/ edit the bold text)****
Dear Mr/Ms. (MPP last name),
My name is ____ and I work as a/ am a student at ____. I am contacting you to discuss the discrimination and inequalities experienced by queer people of colour in Toronto.
Inequality and discrimination are issues all LGBTQ2S+ individuals struggle with, but this is particularly true for people of colour. According to the Canadian Mental Health Association, LGBTQ2S+ individuals experience stigma and discrimination throughout their lives, with studies showing that 20 percent of transgender individuals have experienced physical or sexual assault due to their identity, and 35 percent experienced verbal threats or harassment. Studies have also shown that BIPOC LGBTQ2S+ individuals experience significant employment and income disparities, more so than their non-racialized counterparts. Studies also show how systemic racism occurs in policing, policies, and laws. BIPOC LGBTQ2S+ individuals disproportionately experience discrimination and oppression on systemic and individual levels.
While I recognize the changes to legislation around LGBTQ2S+ rights, there are many more steps to be taken. First of all, steps must be made to educate individuals in schools in culturally appropriate and culturally competent ways, including education on these topics and providing support and training to teachers and staff within these schools. Another valuable step is cracking down on violence against LGBTQ2S+ BIPOC individuals both within the police force and within the general population. Through this education and the further attention paid to the protection of LGBTQ2S+ BIPOC individuals, changes can be made to these discriminations and oppressions. Importantly though, these LGBTQ2S+ BIPOC individuals must be included in these conversations, laws, and changes made. These individuals must be central to these changes. Many organizations are working towards creating this right now. If our government systems work with these organizations like Black Lives Matter Canada, change can begin in how the people of Ontario and our systems treat and work with BIPOC LGBTQ2S+ individuals.
Thank you for your time and for listening to my concerns, I hope to hear back from you soon.
Sincerely,
____
(Signature)
Email for Company/ Businesses:
****(Fill in/ edit text in bold)****
Dear (Company name or owner name),
My name is ____ and I work as a/ am a student at ____. I am contacting you to discuss the discrimination and inequalities experienced by queer people and the support of pride month and the pride parade by your company.
Inequities and discrimination are experienced regularly by LGBTQ2S+ individuals. According to the Canadian Mental Health Association, LGBTQ2S+ individuals experience stigma and discrimination throughout their lives, with studies showing that 20 percent of transgender individuals have experienced physical or sexual assault due to their identity, and 35 percent experienced verbal threats or harassment. LGBTQ2S+ individuals experience higher rates of mental health struggles, employment, and income disparities. For these reasons, taking pride month as a time to make a change and advocate for LGBTQ2S+ people is so valuable.
(Your experience- you can do a paragraph on how these things affect you, your friends, or loved ones)
As a company that creates products/ participates in the pride parade, you have an opportunity to make a change when it comes to these issues. Taking extra steps in creating advocacy, moving past the selling of products for pride month, but making equality, inclusion, and diversity a priority all year, working with the LGBTQ2S+ community to assure support is given. Pride and LGBTQ2S+ rights need year-round advocacy and support from organizations like yours. Taking time to evaluate your policies, and supports, and assure your workplace is a safe space for these individuals, working with the LGBTQ2S+ community and creating a space where support is given will be a valuable addition to supporting pride month. I hope you can take time in the following time to assure these needs are met and support is being given. There are many organizations working towards this right now who could use the support of businesses like you.
Thank you for your time and for listening to my concerns, I hope to hear back from you soon.
Sincerely,
____
(Signature)
Resources:
Check out this podcast:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/4br8BB5u2mfGpPlTlT9W5c?si=7e42d8a3db18423f
- This podcast discusses the Stonewall riots in a different way, addressing the issues with the mainstream stories of Stonewall. Stonewall is about intersectionality, racism, oppression and more than just being gay. This podcast discusses activists happening before and after the Stonewall riots and the value of intersectionality in these conversations.
Check out this book: The Gay Revolution: The Story of the Struggle By: Lillian Faderman
- This book is based on interviews with politicians, military figures, legal activists, and many members of the LGBTQ2S+ Community. It discusses LGBTQ2S+ rights and the struggles fighting for rights since before the stonewall riots till now. It is a great read that will educate you further on rights and the gay revolution.
Check out this documentary: Defiance: Voices of a New Generation By Harry Itie- The Rustin Times https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dD-eLv4r4xk
- This documentary shares the voices of young people in Nigeria who are fighting for equal rights for LGBTQ2s+ peoples in Nigeria. The documentary shares the laws in Nigeria that cause this inequality and discusses what coming out looked like for these individuals, as well as the activism work they do.
Or this documentary: Our Dance of Revolution By Philip Pike
- This documentary is based on the adversities experienced by black queer folks in Toronto. Using oral history, this documentary tells the story of pride and activism occurring through the Black Lives Matters movement, and shows the value and use of black queer voices in activism throughout Toronto.
Check out this website: https://yohomo.ca/
- This website has blogs, podcasts, events, resources and supports, and a shop as well all based on LGBTQ2S+ rights and support.