Hi ,

51 years ago in New York City’s Greenwich Village, police were conducting one of their common raids of gay bars in the area.

In 1969, homosexuality was still illegal in nearly every state. Bars and restaurants could get shut down for having LGBTQIA employees or serving LGBTQIA patrons. Drag queens and transgender patrons were particularly singled out as New York City also labeled “masquerading” as a member of the opposite sex as a crime.

So when these police raided the Stonewall Inn, it could have been seen as “business as usual.”

 

But something incredible happened…

 

The people rose up together and fought back. The police were forced to retreat and lock themselves inside the Stonewall Inn while the patrons continued to rise up in a powerful demonstration. It is
especially important to note that this uprising and the wave of Gay Rights activism that followed was particularly championed by two transgender women of color, Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera.

When we talk about Pride, we are commemorating those LGBTQIA people who fought (and still fight) for equal rights. That is why, 51 years later, we refuse to forget what happened at the Stonewall Inn.

These people had asked for equality over and over but were being ignored by a system that simply did not care about them. So they did the only thing that they could: they united and rose up together.

The LGBTQIA community is not interested in asking permission to exist. They are not asking permission to be treated equally.

History has shown that asking permission still gives all of the power to the oppressor.

In the year 2020, we are tired of centuries of inequality. Whether it’s inequality based on race, sexual orientation, gender identity, or anything else, we are DEMANDING complete and total equality.
Anything less is a violation of human rights.

This campaign is about the ability of people to come together to create solutions that benefit us all. We recognize that the change that the masses are hoping for is not going to come from a corrupt, two-party system.

We aren’t just campaigning for reform. We are campaigning for revolution and an EcoSocialist Green New Deal.

The revolution has just begun. Will you donate to our campaign to take our country back from the oppressors?

With an average donation to our campaign of $27, we are working to implement solutions that work for us all and not just the 1%.

In solidarity,

Team Howie

Spread the word and encourage as many people as possible to sign up for emails from our campaign at HowieHawkins.us.