In the late morning of July 11, over 3,000 community members took to the streets for San Diego’s Pride Resilient Community March. This year, rather than holding the annual Pride Parade, volunteer organizers hosted a march centered around the theme of LGBTQ resilience. In the midst of anti-transgender legislation and disproportionate amounts of violence and discrimination, this event served as a space to embrace LGBTQ identity, expression and continue fighting for liberation.
The event consisted of attendees from diverse backgrounds. Over 45 local organizations joined the march, including San Diego Black LGBTQ Coalition, Party for Socialism and Liberation, ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) San Diego, Genderphluid Collective, Proyecto TransLatina, San Diego Coalition for Reproductive Justice and PFLAG San Diego.
Community members began the mile-long march in Balboa Park and ended in Hillcrest, a neighborhood known for having many LGBTQ residents and businesses. Groups brought pride flags and signs with various themes, some touting pro-transgender sayings, such as, “Trans rights are human rights” and “Trans people cannot be erased! Fight back!” Chants echoed, “When trans lives are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!” and “El pueblo, unido, jamás será vencido!” (Translation: The people, united, will never be defeated ).
Liberation News spoke to veteran LGBTQ organizer and ANSWER member E. Novak, who told us that, “Resilience isn’t just about rolling with the punches and weathering the storm. It’s about fighting back. It’s about standing up for our community. Resilience is fighting the right-wing attacks on trans people’s healthcare and basic right to exist in public. It’s about demanding healthcare as a human right, including HIV/AIDS treatment and transition-related care. It’s about countering the cynical weaponization of our identities by the State Department to justify imperialist intervention. Real resilience means ending this entire system of capitalism that thrives on our oppression and replacing it with a just society that meets everyone’s needs.”
After a year of isolation and 52 years after the Stonewall uprising, this event reminded the city of San Diego that the LGBTQ community will continue to fight for liberation as long as the capitalist state allows anti-LGBTQ bigotry, discrimination and violence.
Featured image: Banners read, “Stonewall means fight back!” and “Fight for socialism and LGBTQ liberation.” Liberation photo: Max Lamangan
