Hispanic Federation Reflects on a Pride Month Shaped by SCOTUS Decision and BLM Movement
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 30th, 2020
Contact:
Gabriela Benazar
(917)723-0506
gbenazar-contractor@hispanicfederation.org
New York, NY- In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, the fourth year since the massacre at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, FL, where nearly all victims were LGBTQ Latinx, and in the context of the Black Lives Matter Movement, Hispanic Federation President Frankie Miranda issued the following statement:
“Even though this Pride Month lacked many of the traditional in-person celebrations due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it saw advancements for LGBTQ communities that we celebrate, such as the Supreme Court decision that protects LGBTQ workers from discrimination, and the likelihood that history will be made when two openly gay Black men (one who also self-identifies as Puerto Rican/Afro-Latino) will be elected to Congress in the fall after advancing in their primaries.
We applaud the efforts of all the civil rights organizations, advocates, and individuals that pushed to make workplace discrimination illegal and ensure more diverse representation in Congress. We cannot, however, celebrate these important advancements in a vacuum. The Black Lives Matter movement has continued to shine a light on the systemic racism that has plagued our society for centuries and put a focus on the work that needs to be done to achieve the just and inclusive society we should all strive for. We join Black communities in calling for an end to systemic racism rooted in white supremacy which includes the mechanisms built to target, jail, and deport immigrants. Part of defending Black life also includes defending our Black immigrant communities who face disproportionate targeting from police and ICE.
The remarkable progress that LGBTQ communities have made over the last 51 years remains under attack by the president and his administration who are rolling back policies that protect our LGBTQ brothers and sisters from discrimination. This is also true for our immigrant LGBTQ members who flee homophobia, violence, and oppression, then face dangerous policies in this country under an immigration system that denies their humanity. Too many transwomen seeking asylum are dying in immigration detention. This is unacceptable.
On each anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, we remember that it was Black and Latina transwomen of color like Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson, among others, who stood up to protest the unjust treatment of the LGBTQ community. We invite you to remember that Stonewall was a protest, and that the fight for equality, and against racism, bigotry and white supremacy is far from over.
As a member of both the LGBTQ and Latinx communities, I am proud to be president of Hispanic Federation, an organization that has spent 30 years advocating for the rights and advancement of Hispanic communities in the United States and Puerto Rico, and I look forward to staying in the fight towards a truly equitable and just society.”
Click here to see Hispanic Federation’s Vice President for Federal Policy and Advocacy Laura M. Esquivel talk about the impact of the Supreme Court’s decision to end discrimination of LGBT people in employment.
Click here to learn more about FuerzaFest, Hispanic Federation’s signature Latinx LGBTQ+ Arts Festival produced annually to ensure the stories, artistic contributions, and the role of Latinx people in the LGBTQ movement are never forgotten.
