Activists from around the world will rally in New York’s Greenwich Village on Friday to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the LGBTQ movement’s birth and declare a wave of Trump administration policies that they see as a backlash to their cause.
The anniversary marks the time when, in defiance of police harassment, patrons of a Greenwich Village gay bar called the Stonewall Inn rose up. The unrest caused a domestic and international movement for lesbian, homosexual, bisexual, transgender, and other queer individuals to have equal rights.
While the anniversary promises a celebration atmosphere, activists see the opportunity as a way of protesting against the U.S. Record of President Donald Trump, considered by many to be hostile to LGBTQ people. They also want to show in many areas of the globe the still precarious situation of LGBTQ individuals.
“It’s always a good time to protest,” said Lisa Cannistraci, activist and owner of the New York lesbian bar Henrietta Hudson, referring to the Pride parade. “Trump got elected and it was devastating for the country, (but) there is a huge silver lining, and that is people are paying attention.”
The rally, organized by NYC Pride on Friday, commemorates the events that took place half a century ago outside the Stonewall Inn. It is one of a month’s highlights of World Pride celebrations, along with a Sunday parade that is supposed to attract up to 4 million individuals to New York.
Many LGBTQ activists have strongly opposed a series of Trump administration initiatives, including a military ban on transgender people, reductions in HIV / AIDS studies and support for so-called initiatives for religious freedom that eliminate LGBTQ protection.
The White House argues that Trump has long advocated equality for LGBTQ, stating that he became the first Republican president to acknowledge Pride Month this year and that he has supported a worldwide campaign to decriminalize homosexuality.
“President Trump has never considered LGBT Americans second-class citizens and has opposed discrimination of any kind against them,” White House spokesman Judd Deere said in a statement.
Many LGBTQ individuals have lost the message, as the Trump administration is opposed to expanding anti-discrimination protection under federal employment law to gay or transgender employees, a legal problem presently before the United States. Supreme Court, with a one-year decision.
Elle Hearns, a black transgender woman who operates the Marsh P. Johnson Institute for Trans Human Rights, said trans people also feel distanced from Pride events corporate sponsorship, particularly when those same corporations promote other Trump policies and allies.
“There are literally black trans women being murdered across the country in poor ravaged ghettos that these corporations have done nothing to invest any money in but have certainly encouraged gentrification. It’s left the community destitute,” Hearns said.
According to the Human Rights Campaign, at least 10 transgender people were killed in the United States in 2019 after 26 were killed in 2018 and 29 in 2017. Nearly all of them were colored trans women.
