As the world continues to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, America is slowly reaching its boiling point. With over 100,000 dead from the virus, nearly 40 million unemployed, and a government response that lacks the urgency of the situation, the U.S. is quickly sliding into a humanitarian crisis. Unfortunately, for Black people, racism, anti-Blackness, and white supremacy take no days off, nor does the oppressive police system. With last week’s police killing of George Floyd, thousands across the country have taken to the streets to fight against injustice — a harrowing reminder this Pride month of a time in history when Black and brown trans and queer folks led a violent revolt against policing.
On the night of June 28, 1969, history was made at a bar in Greenwich Village, New York called the Stonewall Inn. It was on that night during a police raid that LGBTQ+ people led their first major action against the NYPD and their discriminatory practices towards queer people. During that raid, a biracial butch lesbian by the name of Stormé DeLarverie resisted arrest, screaming out to others there, “Why don’t you guys do something?” It was in that moment that the only response to violence could be violence — the only language the police and state have ever spoken. The surrounding crowd then began to rise up, and the Stonewall uprising was born.
Led by Black and Brown trans and queer folks, the rebellion that followed lasted six days. There were protests, looting, and violent exchanges with the police the likes of which had never been seen during that era. Though the historical record of Stonewall is often debated, many credit Marsha P. Johnson, a Black transgender woman, with throwing the first brick at Stonewall, and Stormé with throwing the first punch. What’s clear is that Black and brown LGBTQ+ folks played an integral role in the uprising.
Stonewall was a rebellion. Stonewall was an uprising. Many have referred to Stonewall as a riot — an idea that’s often rejected, as the word “riot” carries a negative connotation. No matter how we refer to it, Stonewall stands as the watershed moment in LGBTQ+ history and the catalyst for the LGBTQ+ rights movement. As queer people, riots and protest have often been among the most powerful tools we have to create change. Many of the same folks involved with Stonewall had to be just as active in protesting and activism during the HIV epidemic — an epidemic still harming Black LGBTQ+ people at much higher rates than other communities.
In 1970, on the one year anniversary of Stonewall, the first ever Pride parade took place in NYC. It was a defiant act in the face of what happened the year prior, one that had the potential to be unsafe and dangerous for all who participated. Fortunately, the parade went off without altercation, starting a new tradition for LGBTQ+ communities.
Pride parades have grown over the five decades since to become a globally celebrated event, drawing out millions of citizens in many cities to join the festivities. Unfortunately, Pride — much like many other movements — has become commodified by capitalism, whitewashing much of the movement, its history, and connection to Black resistance for civil rights. It has become more about giving corporations 30 days to support queer communities by slapping a rainbow on every product and donating to “good” LGBTQ+ causes, while centering their allyship over the needs of those they claim to support. Black and brown LGBTQ+ communities still continue to face gaps in healthcare, education, and socio-economic stability in the face of the “rainbow.”
In a piece called “Symbolism Is Not Enough” by Da’Shaun Harrison, an Atlanta-based nonbinary abolitionist and organizer, they highlight “rainbow capitalism” with specificity:
“Rainbow Capitalism,” also referred to as pink capitalism, is a term used to detail the allusion to incorporation of LGBTQIA+ rights into corporations with profit incentives […] Solidarity from these corporations has extended to gay marriage, but not abolition of the police […] corporations like Nike, Walmart, and Jack Daniels announce countless rainbow-colored products every year while investing in private prisons, slave labor, and ignoring the higher rate at which LGBTQIA+ people suffer from substance abuse.
