This Pride Month will function differently than those in past years, but the sentiment and determination remain the same. As we move into June, and our country experiences a transformative movement again, we support the need for a transformative movement and our communities of Color living in fear, anger and frustration.

The history of Pride Month is rooted in the Stonewall Inn Rebellion, which occurred on June 28th, 1969. This event was seminal in LGBTQ+ history, as it was the first nationally recognized event in which LGBTQ+ community members fought back against police officers who had emptied out the Inn, a communal space for the LGBTQ+ community in Greenwich Village, New York City, and abused a number of patrons. As we celebrate Pride Month in 2020, we must remember Stonewall was a riot and that this expression of a collective demand for equal rights and treatment helped spark a national movement for LGBTQ+ rights, which was led by queer People of Color.

Marsha “Pay it No Mind” Johnson was a Black trans woman native to New Jersey who was a force behind the Stonewall Riots and the surrounding activism that sparked a new phase of the LGBTQ+ movement. Along with Sylvia Rivera, she established the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR), a group committed to supporting transgender youth experiencing homelessness in New York City. Marsha P. Johnson was tragically murdered on July 6, 1992, at the age of forty-six. Her case was originally closed by the NYPD as an alleged suicide, but transgender activist Mariah Lopez fought for it to be reopened for investigation in 2012. Marsha P. Johnson is now one of the most venerated icons in LGBTQ+ history, and has been celebrated in a series of books, documentaries, and films.

Sylvia Rivera is one of the most notable Stonewall veterans and fierce trans activists of the late twentieth century. Sylvia Rivera refused to accept conformity to the status quo, constantly calling out the mainstream “gay rights” movement for being complacent in perpetuating systems that continued to specifically disenfranchise people of color.

It is the legacy of these heroes, and many others, that we hope to honor and perpetuate with our work as NJ LGBTQ Democrats, a two-fold mission: to support LGBTQ Democrats running for office in New Jersey, and to advocate policy conducive to creating true equity. And now more than ever, intersectionality must be our strength as we stand with our queer community of Color.

“We need to raise awareness about the underrepresentation of LGBTQ+ people in elected office and to inspire more LGBTQ people to run and win,” said Lauren Albrecht, Chair of New Jersey Democratic LGBTQ Caucus. “Despite being at least 4.5% of the US population, LGBTQ people hold only 0.17% of all elected offices nationwide, according to the Victory Institute. We would need to elect at least 22,529 more LGBTQ+ people nationwide to achieve equitable representation.”

“Everything’s on the line for LGBTQ people and our families this election. It is imperative that we engage the LGBTQ community and our supporters in this critical election year,” said David Grant, Vice-Chair.

Please join us in honoring the sacrifices of those who have blazed the trails before us, and in standing in solidarity and action with those who still struggle for equality.

For more information regarding the NJ LGBT Democrats, please visit: https://www.facebook.com/NJLGBTDems/