Gay senator Brad Hoylman recalls that Stonewall was also a revolt against police violence. In an open letter to the organisers of New York Pride, he demands the cancellation of the planned virtual and commercial Pride event at the end of June – and that Pride events return to their rebellious origins in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.

The US can’t catch a break. After the violent death of the black US-American George Floyd atm the hands of white policemen, the protests and riots continue. The killing of the African-American transgender Tony McDade in Tallahassee, Florida, by a white policeman last week also received nationwide attention. According to eyewitnesses, the policeman did not warn McDade, who was wanted for a knife attack, but shot and killed the allegedly unarmed man without giving him the chance to turn himself in. McDade died shortly after in hospital.

The only openly gay senator in the state of New York, Brad Hoylman (54), called on the organisers of New York Pride to return to their “radical roots” in view of the social unrest in the US. He expressed his wish that the organisers concentrate their efforts more on supporting African Americans who are currently protesting against racism and police brutality in the USA.

As a result, Hoylman called for the cancellation of current plans for the virtual Pride celebration on June 28th, which is to be broadcast on WABC. This is not the time for a fraidy-cat pride sponsored by large corporations that merely celebrates the progress the queer community has made since 1969, Hoylman said. He added that it would be inconsiderable to ignore the fact that the country’s African-American community is crying out for justice. He recalled:

“The first Pride was a riot led by Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera and black and brown transgender women who were outraged by police misconduct and racial bias. It was an outpouring of anger and frustration that led to a worldwide LGBTQ human rights movement. […] Fifty one years later, the Summer of ’20 is beginning to feel a lot like the Summer of ’69.”

Great solidarity from the queer community

Hoylman’s words of solidarity are only the latest from the queer community. More than 75 queer organisations in the UA, including Human Rights Watch, GLAAD and The Trevor Project, have joined together in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and refer in a statement to their common experiences of harassment and police brutality.

They speak of a shocking epidemic of violence, to which many members of the African American transgender community have also fallen victim. Mara Keisling, founder and executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, said:

“This police violence movement, this anti-racism movement, is our movement. We can’t have a moral or effective trans or LGBT+ movement if it’s not an anti-racist movement.”

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