BGSQDBureau of General Services—Queer Division
BGSQD
From Reclaim Pride Coalition website (posted March 1, 2021)
“The Reclaim Pride Coalition (RPC) will take to the streets on Sunday, June 27th, 2021 to stage the third annual Queer Liberation March. As in 2019 and 2020, this is a People’s March with no regimented contingents, no corporate sponsors, and no NYPD control over decision making or uniformed police marching. The Queer Liberation March revives the goals and spirit of the original Christopher Street Liberation Day March in 1970, born out of the 1969 Stonewall Uprising: social justice, freedom, and access for all!
“Over the last year, the larger Queer and Trans communities have endured extraordinary challenges and difficulties brought on by the pandemic and its economic fallout, continued violent attacks committed by the NYPD on peaceful protesters, murders of Black Trans Women, and the public expressions of anti-Trans bigotry and racism by alleged members of our communities, among many other issues of importance to our intersectional coalition.
“‘We must march and have our voices heard,’ said James Papadopoulos, a march organizer, ‘The struggle for Queer Liberation cannot wait for the passing of the pandemic, as COVID-19 has made surviving even more difficult for far too many of our most marginalized community members.’ As with the 2020 Queer Liberation March For Black Lives and Against Police Brutality, organizers will encourage marchers to wear masks and employ risk reduction strategies. Masks and sanitizer will also be provided at the gathering site and along the March route to keep this a safe event. Spare wheelchairs will also be carried along the March route to be utilized as needed. As with both prior marches, organizers pledge to make the March as accessible as possible: including ASL interpretation for all aspects, attention being paid to accessible subway stations near the gathering spot and end points, and street medics and marshals being positioned throughout the March.
“In recognition of the extraordinary diversity of lived experience among our many Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual, Two-Spirit, Non-Binary, Gender Non-conforming (LGBTQIA2SNBGNC+) and other communities, RPC organizers have created an online form for folks around the city, the country, and the world to share their struggles, challenges, and needs to inform the planning and messaging for the March.
“‘This is the People’s March,’ said organizer Francesca R. Barjon. ‘We want any and every member of our Queer and Trans family to guide the direction of this March, thereby creating an event that can make a true impact on our lives and our capacity to thrive!'”
The Bureau is partnering with Reclaim Pride Coalition on a series of five online panels addressing houselessness; transgenerational activism; radical Black love/confronting anti-Blackness; prison/police abolition; and sex work/sex workers’ rights.
The first of these panels, No Place to Call Home: Queer & Trans Houselessness, 2021, will take place on Thursday, April 15, 6 to 7:30 PM EDT online. To register for this FREE event please visit the Eventbrite page.
The Bureau’s online store now features a section devoted to books recommended by Reclaim Pride Coalition!
Reclaim Pride Coalition (RPC) is a New York City-based group of LGBTQIA2S+ activists in alliance with dozens of grassroots community groups, nationally and internationally. RPC’s primary work is organizing the Queer Liberation March. In June 2019, to mark the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising, RPC mobilized more than 45,000 people to recreate the original 1970 Christopher Street Liberation Day March route uptown from Stonewall to Central Park. In 2020, under the darkness of the global pandemic, RPC held the Queer Liberation March for Black Lives and Against Police Brutality. The QLM is the annual people’s protest march without corporate funding; corporate floats; politicians’ grandstanding; or police control or involvement.
For Reclaim Pride Coalition’s complete statements of purpose:
RPC 2020 March – Demands & Safety Info
Website: www.reclaimpridenyc.org
Facebook: @QueerMarch
Twitter: @QueerMarch
Instagram: @QueerMarch