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Hi Indivisibles, 

New voice taking over the email today -- I’m Kenny Palmer, Deputy Press
Secretary here at Indivisible. 

Today is the last day of Pride Month, and what a Pride Month it has been
-- the reversal of Roe v. Wade, the continuing devastation of a brutal and
unjust war in Ukraine, and the reverberations of mass shootings across the
country dominated headlines. We are seeing a degradation of basic rights
and comforts that the American people have held sacred for so long. 

What does it mean to celebrate Pride in the face of such realities?

As a gay Black man growing up in rural Kentucky and South Carolina,
comfort was not a given in my life. One swish, one flourish, one moment of
living my truth was enough for people to know that I didn’t belong. That
their idea of community didn’t include me. 

But their conditioning did. 

Let me tell you, to this day I still love a good ol’ boy in a pastel
shirt. The classic ideas of rugged beauty still hold me to this day. I
won’t lie, I swoon. Maybe it’s a vestige of some burning desire to be a
part of a community that would not accept me. 

I still remember the fear and shame of walking down the street
hand-in-hand with my boyfriend -- a mundane act of love and a defiance all
wrapped up in one.

But that’s not where I am today. 

I went to a Pride celebration this weekend and was overwhelmed by the
number of “modern families,” children with two dads or two moms or two
parents erasing the binary who proudly proclaimed their love for their
child. Straight families were intermixed with the queer crowd; there to
show support, or just to have a good time -- queer culture, and gay Black
culture specifically, finally having gained a foothold in the popular
zeitgeist through shows like Pose and Drag Race.

We were free to be. Brilliant, bold, beautiful, irreverent, maybe a little
naked, our full selves on display in defiance of the fear and shame we
once felt. Gay is mainstream now. Obergefell is law. We have made it,
honey. 

But, that is only part of the story. While tragedies like Roe, Ukraine,
and mass shootings impact all Americans, LGBTQ+ Americans are dealing with
specific additional compounding oppressions:

* [ [link removed] ]2021 was the deadliest year on record for trans people. Trans
people are over four times more likely to be the victims of violent
crime than cis people. The majority of that violence is inflicted on
Black and Brown trans bodies. While violence on the whole in American
society has been in decline, violence against trans people is only
increasing. To make matters worse, [ [link removed] ]Trans/Gay panic defense is still
a valid legal strategy across much of the country.
* [ [link removed] ]As of 2021, 35 states have laws that criminalize HIV exposure with
several of those states criminalizing behaviors that pose a negligible
risk for HIV transmission. An HIV diagnosis is no longer associated
with the devastating outcomes we still associate with the AIDS crisis
of the 80s. Even as we are on the edge of vaccine breakthroughs and
while antiretroviral drugs become more effective every year, our legal
system is still criminalizing a virus in order to disproprtionately
target gay people in a vestige of unfounded fear and hate. 
* [ [link removed] ]Over 300 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been proposed in 2022 alone.
Whether stopping trans athletes from competing in sports,
criminalizing medical transition, or blocking any mention of LGBTQ+
existence from schools, legislatures across the country are proposing
anti-LGBTQ+ bills at terrifying rates. With a Supreme Court that is
nakedly Republican, [ [link removed] ]where Justice Clarence Thomas recently called
into question the lawfulness of same-sex relationships and same-sex
marriage, more bills are undoubtedly on their way. 
* [ [link removed] ]31 men were arrested attempting to start a riot at Idaho Pride. In
an offshoot of groups that participated in the now infamous 2017
Charlottesville, VA Unite the Right rally, members of Patriot Front
piled in a U-Haul in matching outfits and tactical gear planning to
cause a violent riot at Idaho Pride. 

Progress has been made for LGBTQ+ people in this country but we are
nowhere near finished (and, in some cases, we are moving backwards). The
examples above are just a few ways in which living as a gay Black man
means I am still a target. But we move forward.

This was the first Pride on a large scale in many places since the
COVID-19 pandemic began. It was a necessary release of joy and an
expression of the pent-up angst many of us have been feeling -- for LGBTQ+
Americans, we finally formed communities of our own only to have them
taken away by another deadly virus taking lives, this time from more than
our community. 

This Pride was joyous and beautiful and debaucherous and brilliant and
every bit the massive party we needed. (There’s probably a video of me
singing Whitney Houston somewhere…it was a time!)

But, we never forget that Pride has always been a celebration in spite of
the world telling us that we did not belong. We dance and sing and march
and embrace to remind the world that no matter how many times it tries to
knock us down, we are still here. You can not erase us. 

The world has changed a lot since I was a little boy. I no longer feel
shame walking down the street holding hands with my boyfriend (I might
just give him a little kiss too). But what has not changed is the fear,
the constant threat looming over LGBTQ+ people’s lives. Whether it’s
physical violence or legislative oppression, we are still being shown that
we do not belong. 

If you want to take a step towards reminding us that we do:

* [ [link removed] ]Click here to donate to the National Queer and Trans Therapists of
Color Network. Nearly half of queer youth seriously consider suicide.
LGBTQ+ Americans are less likely than cis, straight Americans. And
Black and Brown Americans are less likely to have insurance than their
White counterparts. Make a donation today to make a difference in a
LGBTQ+ person’s future.  
* [ [link removed] ]Click here to donate to the Transgender Legal Defense and Education
Fund (TLDEF). Transgender and gender non-conforming Americans face
disproportionate levels of harassment and discrimination with their
rates of being unsheltered increasing by up to 80% from 2017-2019.
TLDEF works to increase trans rights through the court system in key
areas like employment, health care, education, and public
accommodations.
* [ [link removed] ]Click here if you’re looking for some Indivisible Pride merch. Show
your pride! Wear it loud. All proceeds go to the two aforementioned
funds.

I’m gay. I’m Black. I’m still here. And, I’m proud. That won’t end when
the calendar turns tomorrow and neither will my fight for equality. I hope
you’ll join me.

In solidarity,

Kenny Palmer
Deputy Press Secretary
Indivisible

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