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L E T T E R F R OM T HE E D I T OR
Pride, Fear & Freedom of the Press
BY PAUL SCHINDLER
Last year’s inaugural Queer
Liberation March, produced
by the Reclaim Pride Coalition,
was a reaction to what
organizers said was the over-corporatization
of the traditional LGBTQ
Pride March and a forsaking of the
movement’s traditional social justice
roots.
When Reclaim Pride took to the
streets on June 28, the event had
an even more profound resonance in
the wake of nationwide Black Lives
Matter protests that followed the police
slaying of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Along with events like the
massive June 14 Black Trans Lives
Matter march in Brooklyn and the
Dyke March’s Juneteenth Break the
Chains With Love March (both reported
in Gay City News’ Pride issue),
this year’s Queer Liberation March
put African-American lives and the
risks to them from racist violence and
deadly police force at the center.
Institutions and individuals nationwide
have rushed to affi rm the
message that Black Lives Matter —
and that is to the good, even if some
shows of support seem more authentic
and committed to ongoing followup
than others. As Americans embrace
their responsibility to speak out
against racist practices and funding
and policy priorities, it is also critical
that those outside the African-American
community — and outside communities
of color, in general — look
to those among us who suffer from
racial disparities and injustices for
guidance and leadership.
As the executive director of the
Bronx LGBTQ community center
Destination Tomorrow, Sean Coleman,
writes here, “I’ve watched as
narratives that should be crafted by
the individuals and communities
most impacted by discrimination be
designed and developed by privileged
individuals who claim to want to ‘get
it right.’”
We can all be activists, but many of
us also have an obligation to listen.
The protests across the US in the
past six weeks have raised compelling
and complex questions about
how our society is policed, where our
public dollars are spent, and how
past wrongs can be righted. Inevitably,
citizens and elected offi cials will
face tough choices — tough both because
they require an appropriate
response to the circumstances of life
for all Americans and because they
require each of us to reexamine our
received biases about how the system
should work.
The challenges raised threaten not
only the status quo — and of course
the retrograde policies of the Trump
administration — but also many progressive
elected offi cials who have
long talked the talk and suddenly
may fi nd themselves on the defensive
as to whether they are walking the
walk. When we believe we are trying
to do the right thing, it can be diffi
cult to have our motives and bona
fi des called into question, especially
if done in an angry, confrontational
way.
Elected offi cials can disagree with
activists, but is not their job to lecture
activists on how they carry out
lawful protests. Nor is it the job of
elected offi cials to try to dictate how a
free press covers those protests.
A government that sets the terms
for how citizens seek redress and how
the press performs its job is not a democracy
— no matter what Donald
Trump tells his rabid fans. What’s repellent
in Trump is also repellent in
anyone who goes down that road.
P E R S P E C T I V E : T h e S t r u g g l e G o i n g Fo r wa r d
Black Leaders to the Front in
an Inclusive Show of Unity
BY SEAN COLEMAN
Over the last couple of
months, I’ve resisted articulating
what I’ve been
feeling for fear of not being
able to contain the rage in my head
and the sorrow in my heart. At this
moment, I will attempt to put my feelings
into words.
As I sit and refl ect on the movements
I’ve been a part of for the better
part of a decade, I’m saddened by
things I’ve noticed. I’ve noticed allies
— individuals who I thought understood
the unique intersections of race,
class, and gender — become performative
in their reactions, speaking
about rebellion and resistance while
quietly working to seize power over
the very folks with whom they claim
allyship.
I’ve watched as corporations showcase
Black Lives Matter insignias
against a backdrop of their logos
while still refusing to hire Black and
Brown folks into leadership roles.
I’ve watched as narratives that
should be crafted by the individuals
and communities most impacted by
discrimination be designed and developed
by privileged individuals who
claim to want to “get it right” when it
comes to diversity, equity, and inclusion
policy and practice.
However, these performative allies
only ever offer a token Black celebrity
face or a token member of a vulnerable
community in order to give their
co-opted work credibility.
I’m left wondering: when will these
well-meaning allies explore their
privilege and take a step back, allowing
for authentic, substantive
change? While I’ve never been a fan
of “cancel-culture,” I wonder: Is this
direction in which vulnerable communities,
and those invested in their
liberation, have to go to move allies
who co-opt and dominate leadership
space out of the way?
Don’t get me wrong, every movement
needs its allies, but let’s be
clear: Allies, your role is to provide
a platform for the voices of the unheard.
We don’t need you in the front
or shouting orders from the back. We
need you to move!
➤ TO THE FRONT, continued on p.23
July 16 - July 29, 2 22 020 | GayCityNews.com
/GayCityNews.com
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