Stonewall Kickball

From the Stonewall Dodgeball release who shared these words far more eloquently than I could.

It is with great frustration, pain, and unease that we move into Pride month. Current issues in our country once again provide an opportunity to reflect on our LGBTQ+ history and present, as a league, reflections and a call for action on events taking place. The state of our society is grim, we must acknowledge that. Tensions, unrest, anger, and pain can be felt in D.C. and throughout our country.

First, we affirm, we acknowledge and believe that Black Lives Matter.

Second, we acknowledge and empathize with protests occurring in D.C. and our country. These protests are focused on the need to address, decry, and stop systemic and institutional police violence in our country that disproportionately affects Black individuals. We see you. We have been angry with you regarding George Floyd's murder at the hand of former police officer Derek Chauvin. We have been angry with you about Breonna Taylor. We have been angry with you regarding Ahmaud Arbery.

Racial injustice affects us all and we can no longer sit back and not decry it, loudly. We will say their names.

Our community is no stranger to protests, the Stonewall Riots of 1969 were acts of civil disobedience. Over 50 years ago, on June 24th Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera and many other unsung Black and Brown Trans women, trans men, drag queens, and queer people — lead and organized to confront police violence on queer bodies at the Stonewall Inn for 5 days. Later helping to establish the Gay Liberation Front to support community engagement. Our community continued to act. The White Night Riots of 1979 organized after the lenient sentencing of Harvey Milk’s murder to protests and grief surrounding Matthew Sheppard in 1998. Our community acted, our predecessors acted, and we must act in solidarity. 

We also ask that we acknowledge and advocate for our trans and non-binary brothers and sister who are victims of violence on disproportional rates, specifically our Black and Brown brothers and sisters. This year alone, we have lost at least 12 members of our trans community due to violence: Dustin Parker, Neulisa Luciano Ruiz, Yampi Méndez Arocho, Monika Diamond, Lexi, Johanna Metzger, Serena Angelique Velázquez Ramos, Layla Pelaez Sánchez, Penélope Díaz Ramírez, Nina Pop, Helle Jae O’Regan, and Tony McDade. The fight is not done until we are all free to celebrate Pride out, loved, and safe. 

All this to be said we ask that we stand in solidarity with our Black brothers and sisters and decry racial injustice and seek to support and uplift them, as they have uplifted the queer community. We ask that we do this safely and lawfully. Be an ally and be an advocate. If you find yourself asking what you can do to be a better ally, here are some resources to consider. We also acknowledge that allyship is an on-going journey; we will make mistakes, and we will be conscious of feedback and move forward.