Weighing In On WorldPride 2019

Five of our very favorite humans share their personal views on the significance of WorldPride 2019 | Stonewall 50.

Jazzmyne Robbins

Talent & Self-Empowerment Influencer

Photo by Maggie West

I am so excited to go to WorldPride this year. First of all, the fact that WorldPride is in New York this year really allows for so much more diversity and inclusion because New York is a main hub of so many different cultures, experiences, and walks of life. Besides that, I personally am just so excited to see people celebrate this beautiful community in their own ways. The LGBTQIA+ community is so bold and so strong, and I am so excited to see how that looks on people who are like me and different from me. Being a femme lesbian and a woman of color from a very small Midwestern town, it took me some time to figure out my place in my community. This year for WorldPride, I will be celebrating my own confidence journey as well as empowering others around me to be their true, authentic selves!

Jelisha Pedraza

Youtuber, Dancer, & Model

WorldPride
Photo by Jelisha Pedraza

WorldPride 2019 means that our community gets to come together and celebrate our identities. To think that 50 years ago, police officers were raiding gay nightclubs and events, and are now guarding and protecting several events throughout the USA shows how far we’ve come. Though we still have a long way to go, WorldPride is a stepping stone to a better future for all of us.. Not only is it a celebration of beauty, authenticity, and individuality, but WorldPride is a moment for us to revel in our pride. Millions of people of all shapes and colors will come together and celebrate diversity. I can’t wait to see what the generations to come bring to the table. WorldPride is going to be huge, hectic, wild, and all-around incredible. I personally look forward to seeing how the craziness unfolds. WorldPride 2019 here we come!

Stacy Lentz

Stonewall Inn Co-owner & Activist

Photo by Shea Carmen Swan

Stonewall 50 is a time to celebrate! It’s a time to renew our commitment to the struggles our elders faced in 1969, the fight that began right here on Christopher Street. However, the fight is far from over; the battleground has shifted to the 28 states in this country where you can still be fired for being LGBTQ and the 70+ countries where LGBTQ is still criminalized. So as we look back and celebrate the past 50 years, let’s recommit to the next 50. I am extremely excited to be at the epicenter of WorldPride | Stonewall 50 as I know it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to raise awareness and funds for our community! The world will be watching as we have a chance to show off our beautiful and diverse community.

Anna Hauptmann

Event Producer, Activist, & Single Mom

WorldPride
Photo by Anna Hauptmann

WorldPride represents so very many things to me. Of course you have to remember that this all began as a protest in 1969 with the Stonewall Riots. The root of this “celebration” was born out of resistance to hate. So this is the time to teach our young LGBTQ+ community about our history and how far we have come. Look it up kids! That struggle is still real and at no other time in my lifetime have I felt so much hate and divisiveness in our country. I’m sick over this administration and the racism and sexism I see which only lends more fuel to those who are homophobic. Hate crimes are up, women’s rights are being stripped away and kids and people of color are being put in cages and camps. Don’t get me started, it makes me sick to my stomach. But at the same time, I am full of hope and optimism about how our community comes together and holds each other up. I love how frickin kind and fun and diverse and creative my queer friends are. I wouldn’t change it if I could and I love raising my 9 year old daughter around these inspiring people. Pride to me means being proud and open about your sexuality and identity. Wearing that label, whatever part of LGBTQIAPK you identify with, and holding it up for everyone to see instead of hiding it. I can’t wait for World Pride NYC! I hope to meet some super cool new people and show those visiting NYC the best time as well as some good old New York hospitality. Wave to me on the Stonewall float!

Chala Tyson-Tshitundu

Writer & Designer

Photo by Tshitundu

To me, WorldPride means being able to celebrate the full spectrum of experience that exists within the LGBTQIA2S+ community. It means being able to look past just American or Western definitions of what it means to be queer and being able to see the differences that make our community so vibrant and beautiful. There are still so many countries around the world where being queer is not only seen as unacceptable, it’s illegal. We as Americans tend to develop a myopic view of what “queer rights” means and look only at the issues of our immediate communities and not those who fight our same fight across the globe. WorldPride, for me, is a chance to show solidarity with queer people everywhere.

 


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