On Stonewall anniversary, Charlotte LGBTQ groups unite to support Black Lives Matter
Charlotte Black Pride led 40 other LGBTQ groups and non-profit organizations in a call Sunday to support Black Lives Matter and improve efforts within the LGBTQ community around diversity.
Leaders from several of the groups participated in a press conference at Camp North End on Sunday, marking the 51st anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising. The groups collectively issued a letter which states: “As community organizations serving the entire LGBTQ community, our work is built on a legacy of human rights advocacy laid down by Black Americans, including Black LGBTQ visionaries.”
The letter’s signatories include local and statewide LGBTQ business and advocacy groups, leaders from UNC Charlotte, religious organizations, transgender equality non-profit groups and many others.
What is now referred to as the Stonewall Uprising or riots began June 28, 1969 in New York City’s Greenwich Village when police officers began a raid at the Stonewall Inn. Police clashed violently with customers and workers in what was one of the few public spaces where LGBTQ people could gather free from discrimination or harassment. Stonewall served as a unifying moment for gay, lesbian and transgender people and, for many, the raid sparked new political activism toward LGBTQ equality.
The leadership of Black transgender women, Marsha P. Johnson in particular, during the Stonewall Uprising has gained more recognition in recent years.
Shann Fulton, chairperson of Charlotte Black Pride, said on Sunday that support of LGBTQ equality and support of Black Lives Matter are intertwined.
“Pride 2020 should be a wake-up call for the LGBTQ-plus community,” Fulton said. ”We can’t just continue to celebrate corporations painting their logos rainbow for the month of June, but continuing to silence Black voices and use transphobic and homophobic practices.”
At the start of the event, the groups held a libation ceremony, an African ritual that involves pouring liquid as an offering to a god or spirit in honor of those who have died. Organizers read the names of Black people who have been killed at the hands of police, as well as those of Black, transgender women who have lost their lives.
“We cannot have a world where LGBTQ individuals are liberated and free without that world also including Black individuals liberated and free,” said Nada Merghani, programs associate at Charlotte Pride and founder of Feed the Movement CLT.
In the letter, the organizations said that even the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling which bans employment discrimination against LGBTQ workers is based on the foundation laid by the civil rights movement.
“As community organizations serving the entire LGBTQ community, our work is built on a legacy of human rights advocacy laid down by Black Americans, including Black LGBTQ visionaries,” the letter reads.
Sunday’s statement follows Charlotte Pride’s decision earlier this month to ban law enforcement agencies from being a part of its parade and festival uptown. Events for the annual Pride festival were canceled in Charlotte this year due to concerns about the spread of COVID-19. Instead, organizations have held a series of events virtually.
The joint statement calls on all LGBTQ organizations to continue or create new opportunities for “boards, staff or volunteer teams to learn more about ending systemic racism, police brutality, transphobia and white supremacy.”
The organizations also committed to change their marketing efforts to represent diversity in the community, and to use funding for programming for the Black community.
“The reality is, some organizations have fallen short,” the letter reads. “We acknowledge the myriad of ways we can continue to improve on our efforts to ensure that all voices — and especially the voices of Black LGBTQ people — are not only heard, but intimately valued and included in the work we do.”
Here are the groups that signed the letter.
- Charlotte Pride
- The Charlotte LGBT Chamber of Commerce
- Equality NC
- Gay Men’s Chorus of Charlotte
- Charlotte Black Pride
- UNC Charlotte Dean of Students Office
UNC Charlotte LGBTQ+ Staff and Faculty Caucus
UNC Charlotte Office of Identity, Equity, and Engagement
Caldwell Presbyterian Church
Campus Pride
Carolinas CARE Partnership
Charlotte Lesbian & Gay Fund
Charlotte LGBTQ Elders
Charlotte Pride Band
Charlotte Royals Rugby Football Club
Charlotte Transgender Healthcare Group
The City Nation, Inc.
Destini Productions
The Freedom Center for Social Justice
Gender Education Network
Hearts Beat As One Foundation
HRC (Human Rights Campaign), Charlotte
Lionel Lee Jr. Center for Wellness
MCC Charlotte
MeckPAC
Muslim Association for Sexuality and Gender Diversity UNCC
North Carolina AIDS Action Network
One Voice Chorus
Pauli Murray LGBTQ+ Bar Association
PFLAG Charlotte
The Powerhouse Project
Primetimers of Charlotte
Queen City Prism
RAIN
Sacred Souls United Church of Christ
Stonewall Sports
There’s Still Hope
Time Out Youth
Transcend Charlotte
Twirl to the World Foundation
Unity Fellowship Church of Charlotte
