By/Por: Jorge Diaz, MSW
Director of Prevention Services @ Bienestar
It’s Pride month!!!!! Doesn’t really feel like it, does it? With 3 months of COVID-19-which forced all PRIDE festivities to be cancelled, ordered all bars and clubs to shut down and any social settings to celebrate pride with friends will not be an option. Just when we thought we were getting back on track, the world was horrified of the murder of George Floyd and the infamous video that went viral where the world heard his desperate cry for help “I CANT BREATHE.” The world has come together to stand in solidarity with our Black community against police brutality and racism. How do we celebrate PRIDE during a time of pain and mourning? This may be an opportunity to reflect on the profound meaning of pride and how protest and riots should remind us of the origins of PRIDE. In a time where Black men are being killed by police and Trans woman of color being killed at high rates and millions being discriminated and removed from establishments simply for identifying as LGBTQ. What do we have to celebrate exactly? No matter how lonely these times may feel, we must remain united and continue fighting hate and bigotry. We often think pride is about an over priced festival, dancing and having fun with friends or walking around drunk and shirtless. NO! Pride is about riots and protest. Pride is about not being afraid to fight for equality and social justice for a better life. We lost Martin Luther King in the hands of hate and racism, we are losing Black men and Trans woman in the hands of hate an violence and we continue to see acts of discrimination as we saw at the downtown LA restaurant Las Perlas when a video went viral of bar security using excessive force to remove members of the LGBTQ community out of their establishment with no regards of their safety and lives. We are in a time where we must continue to push forward in hopes to create systematic and cultural change.
Pride is about unity regardless of color, gender or social economic status in a fight for humanity. We don’t need alcohol, we need police reform. We don’t need dance tents we need policy change and we certainly do not need PRIDE festivities when others are being killed for the liberties and freedom we are celebrating. We can’t dance freely to Latin music when Latina Trans woman are being caged in ICE detentions or dance to Hip Hop music when Black people are being killed by law enforcement and we should not be supporting establishments like Las Perlas when we have LGBTQ people being harassed, mistreated and discriminated against. Stand with the Black Lives Matter movement, Rock your VOTE and create change across our country and boycott establishments like Las Perlas and all of Pouring with Heart restaurants for discriminating against LGBTQ people. Make the power of your voice heard with the power of your vote and shut down businesses with the power of your hard earned money! Establishments that are not safe for LGBTQ people do not belong in our city.