PRIDE
Dyke March for Black Lives Draws Thousands
Break the Chains With Love Juneteenth event focuses on racial, social justice
BY MATT TRACY
Thousands of women who
traditionally participate
in the Dyke March the
day before the Heritage
of Pride’s LGBTQ Pride March
were joined by members of the Revolting
Lesbians, Rise and Resist,
the Reclaim Pride Coalition, Gays
Against Guns, and other activists
in a Juneteenth Break the Chains
With Love March.
The June 19 evening event, organized
by queer Black women,
placed an important spotlight on
racial justice, with marchers traveling
from Brooklyn Bridge Park,
over the bridge to Manhattan, past
the African Burial Ground on Lower
Broadway and from there to City
Hall.
Hours before the march stepped
off, four of its organizers spoke via
Zoom to Gay City News about its
planning — as well as other events
the NYC Dyke March Committee
will stage over the next week.
Valarie Walker, a member of the
Dyke March Committee who took
the lead on bringing the Juneteenth
march to life, told Gay City
News that the idea for the march
stemmed from a conversation she
had with a white friend who was
experiencing a sense of loss regarding
what to do in response to
the protests targeting police brutality
and racism.
“He recognized he could turn off
the news media and get a break
from it without fear, so he understood
his privileges,” Walker said.
“I felt so much love for him in that
moment and I realized, ‘Wow, love
is going to be my way.’ I had felt
anger, rage, and retaliation, and
that’s not really me. Soon, the idea
of love hit my brain.”
Between that idea and further
collaboration with other Dyke
March organizers, a rapid turn
of events led to the formation of
the Juneteenth march. Speaking
of how quickly the event was
organized, Dyke March organizer
Terry Ferreira credited Walker’s
years of past organizing efforts
and described the sudden shift in
approach as a no-brainer in light
of the direction of today’s political
landscape.
“Rather than have a Dyke March
and have people come in and call
it a solidarity protest,” Ferreira explained,
“why not support things
in our community we are already
doing?”
The event was one of multiple revisions
to the original plans for the
Dyke March. After a virtual Dyke
March was originally planned in
response to the coronavirus pandemic,
that June 27 virtual event
has been canceled. Instead, the
team will be organizing a digital
action and Black dyke fi lm festival
on the same day. Details on that
are forthcoming, and organizers
are stressing that this is only the
beginning of much more to come
in the future.
Robyn Ayers, another member
of the committee, stressed the importance
of community collaboration
and the sharing of resources
as she emphasized the point that
there must be a focus on maintaining
the campaign for the long
haul.
“This is a marathon, not a sprint,”
Ayers said. “There’s so much to be
said to be playing to your strengths.
One of the strengths is that we can
get to the people who do not know
how to safely protest or participate,
and we can equip them better…
Everybody has something to bring
to the table.”
Committee member Stephanie
Garces spoke candidly about the
ongoing process of redirecting the
original plans for the Dyke March
and confi guring the path ahead,
saying that those leading the
Dyke March “decided not so much
to cancel, but more to adapt and
evolve… and to continue on with
amplifying Black voices and hold
a Black fi lm festival, which we are
currently in the middle of compiling.”
But before moving on to future
events, the team concentrated efforts
on ensuring a successful Juneteenth
event. Organizers kept
DONNA ACETO
Thousands joined the NYC Dyke March Committee’s Break the Chains With Love Juneteenth March on
June 19.
DONNA ACETO
DONNA ACETO
Organizer Valarie Walker negotiating with an NYPD offi cer as the march proceeded.
Marshal Jo Macellaro and her team helped participants navigate their entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge.
DONNA ACETO
Members of Rise and Resist, greeting marchers as they arrived in Manhattan, pointed to the police killing
of George Floyd in Minneapolis, which ignited the recent wave of racial justice demands. ➤ DYKE MARCH, BLACK LIVES, continued on p.44
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