Reclaiming our History - Stonewall was a Riot

George Floyd. Breonna Taylor. Tony McDade. Nina Pop. Ahmaud Arbery. These are only some of the names of Black people who have been murdered this year, some from state-sanctioned violence at the hands of police. As our nation has been confronted with these deaths we have become more aware of this nation’s original pandemic: systemic racism. This violence, paired with the well-known racial disparities brought to the surface during the COVID19 public health crisis, has made the direction of the next 50 years of the LGBTQ rights movement more and more clear.

The Stonewall rebellion was a riot. Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera LGBTQ people of color, trans people, gay men, sex workers, and others had had enough. They resisted the criminalization of their bodies and identities, and it gave birth to the movement we celebrate each year. This Pride Month, we are reminded, and in some ways forced, to reclaim the original intent of Pride: to resist like hell.

The Stonewall Democratic Club of NYC stands with all marginalized people, and we are ready to act. In solidarity with Decrim NY, we have called for the passage of the Stop Violence and the Sex Trades Act and the decriminalization of sex work. We continue to call for the Repeal of the #WalkingWhileTrans ban or penal law 240.37, which disproportionately criminalizes Black and Brown cis and trans women. Now we join in solidarity with other organizations in calling for police reform and accountability. New York must pass S3695/A2513 and the Governor should sign into law the repeal of section 50-a of the civil rights law, which shields the disciplinary records of police officers and corrections officers from the public. Now is the time.

Additionally, we ask candidates and elected officials alike to think about the influence of money from police, and corrections unions in politics. While police reform is a necessity for those who claim to stand with the intention behind the #BlackLivesMatter movement, it is also very much an LGBTQ rights issue. As we remember the resistance of our ancestors this Pride Month, we ask that New York City and State enact the bold measures necessary to make us all truly safe and proud.