This week marks the beginning of Pride Month 2020. You may or may not also know about Tony McDade, a transgender Black man who was shot and killed by police in
Tallahassee, Florida on Wednesday, May 27. This is yet another instance of unwarranted police brutality against Black men, and Tony's existence should be recognized not only as a Black man, but as a transgender Black man. As a black woman, my whole life is rooted in intersectionality. I live everyday carrying the weight of not only the #blacklivesmatter movement, but the feminist movement as well. Because of this, I have learned that it is important to, when championing for one cause, include the rest as well.
Johnson was part of the “vanguard” that resisted police during the resulting demonstration known as the Stonewall riots.
"The Stonewall Riots were followed by several days of demonstrations in New York and was the impetus for the formation of the Gay Liberation Front as well as other gay, lesbian and bisexual civil rights organizations. The next year, in 1970, New York's first official gay pride parade set off from Stonewall and marched up 6th Avenue. June was later designated LGBT Pride Month to commemorate the uprising (history.com). "
The movements fighting for gay rights, women's rights, and the rights of the African-American community are all rooted in the need for basic human rights. If you fight for one cause, you must fight for them all. In 1989, civil rights scholar Kimberle Crenshaw brought us the concept of intersectionality while she advocated for the legal recognition of the Venn diagram that exists between marginalized communities.
This LGBT Pride Month let's remember the steps taken toward liberating that community 50 years ago. And let's relate this to where we are now. We have to stand together. We must celebrate the LGBTQ+ community while focusing on the issue at hand. For this month and many more months to come, I ask my LGBT friends to join us in this fight for liberation. We're all in this together.