Queer Liberation!

On Sunday, June 28^th, Karen Kotlar and I––two longtime queer activists––joined thousands in the corporate-free Queer Liberation March organized by the Reclaim Pride Coalition. We marched from Union Square to Foley Square in Manhattan. DEI on steroids. No floats with corporate logos, but scores of banners representing the spirit of Stonewall. And what is that spirit? One of the most intersectional uprisings in America. A truth rarely acknowledged, especially by the straight, cisgender Left.

The folks who fought back for six nights outside the Stonewall Inn were racially diverse, economically disadvantaged, some were homeless, the margins of the margins in America who had enough of enough for many reasons.

Power structures, especially economic structures that benefit few, like capitalism in America, morph just enough to appear inclusive without changing. Billionaire Scott Bessent, the openly gay U.S. Treasury Secretary, may benefit from the profits made by corporate Pride sponsors like Deutsche Bank and Starbucks. So might Liz Cheney, or Pete Buttigieg––don’t get upset Buttigieg fans, I’m not linking these folks politically. But such Pride sponsors don’t represent the spirit of Stonewall. Just the opposite. They guarantee an economic status quo, with a select few reaping the benefits. Today’s Sylvia Riveras, Marsha P. Johnsons, Stormé DeLarvaries, and other Stonewall icons upon whose shoulders we stand, still get crumbs, at best.

Though rooted in the belief that all queer folk should be able to live authentically without fear, the corporate-free Queer Liberation March challenges all systemic oppression. It resists assimilation politics where few gain a seat at the table. Instead, the many banners, including ICE OUT OF NYC, MONEY FOR AIDS, HEALTHCARE FOR EVERY BODY, QUEERS AGAINST IMERIALISM, COMMUNITY POWER: HOUSING WORKS, NO TO GENOCIDE (to list a few), echoed the complex and intersectional nature of the initial Stonewall revolt, and resurrects the Stonewall call for resistance. A call sorely needed in MAGA America..

In Solidarity,

Vince Sgambati

Vince is a longtime queer Central New York activist and author. At early Pride marches in Syracuse, Vince wore a paper bag over his head since marching openly would have threatened his public school teaching job.

#queer #lgbt #queerliberation #stonewall #stonewallwasariot #transgender

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