San Francisco is known worldwide as an epicenter of the LGBTQ struggle, and in the wake of the historic Supreme Court decision upholding and extending the rights of same-sex couples to marry, well over a million people flocked to the city to celebrate PRIDE weekend.
As the Supreme Court decision was being handed down on the morning of June 26, preparations were being made in San Francisco for the 12th annual Trans March from Dolores Park to the Civic Center. Danielle Castro, one of the event’s organizers and co-founder of the Trans Activists for Justice and Accountability Coalition, described in a press release her hopes that the demonstration would “empower trans people and hold San Francisco accountable to stop the violence we face as trans women of color.”
Thousands of people marched in solidarity with the transgender community, including contingents from WORD (Women Organized to Resist and Defend), the ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) Coalition, and the Party for Socialism and Liberation. Nathalie Hrizi of WORD connected the marginalization of the trans community to the anti-gentrification struggles of the poor and working residents of the city as she led chants of, “Evictions NO, Transgender rights YES.”
The march finished at UN plaza, where organizers denounced the racist terrorist attack in Charleston, highlighted the fact that the victory of marriage equality did not equal the full liberation of trans people and or the LGBTQ community as a whole, and honored Jennicet Gutierrez for heroically speaking out for trans women immigrants in the White House during a Pride reception with President Obama.
Following the Trans March was the Dyke March on June 27, described as being “in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and in protest against the displacement of people and queer community institutions in San Francisco.”
WORD joined hundreds of militant women in the march that purposely wound through gentrified sectors of the Castro district to expose the city’s housing crisis and eviction epidemic that disproportionately impacts poor people of color. Chants of “We’re here, we’re queer, we can’t afford condos,” and “Dyke power! Trans power! Black power!” made powerful connections between oppressed communities during a time of unprecedented inequality in San Francisco. In a constant battle waged by the tech elite, landlords, developers, corrupt officials, and their cronies in SFPD to gentrify the city, the poor and oppressed are left with few options but to leave the city or fight back. Saturday’s Dyke march proved the struggle was far from lost.
On June 28, quite possibly the largest PRIDE event in history took place in downtown San Francisco, with close to 250 contingents and over a million people in the streets. Beyond the light-hearted celebration and the opportunity for profit-driven tech giants and ruling class politicians to claim solidarity with the LGBTQ community, a number of contingents brought radical messages of LGBTQ liberation and stressed the importance of remaining in the streets to achieve those ends.
The Party for Socialism and Liberation marched with the Chelsea Manning contingent for the third year since her trial and shameful sentencing of 35 years in prison for exposing U.S. war crimes. Chants from the contingent called for a complete shut-down of the NSA, immediate freedom for Chelsea Manning, and for people to stay in the streets and fight back.
Gloria La Riva of the PSL informed the crowds of the heroic importance of Chelsea Manning’s leaks and the significance of her plight as a transgender woman. Alongside her was Daniel Ellsberg, the famous whistleblower who leaked the Pentagon Papers which revealed the lies of the U.S. government surrounding the Vietnam war. Ellsberg has been one of the leading voices in the struggles to protect Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning from the grips of the U.S. surveillance state. Ellsberg reflected, “Chelsea Manning is my hero. I waited 40 years for someone to put out a batch of secret documents the way she did…I am very honored to be associated with her as a whistleblower.”
The protests surrounding PRIDE weekend in San Francisco and around the world showcased the need for sustained struggle for the liberation of all people. Organize! Struggle! Transcend bigotry!
