On Pride Month 2025
Pride does, indeed, look and feel different this year. However, it should not be a moment to be discouraged, but rather a moment to be empowered by our community’s resilience.
As a Black trans woman, I carry within me the legacy of those who have been silenced, the strength of those who dared to live out loud, and the sacred duty to uplift those who are still finding their voice. Pride is not a trend nor a mere festival. It is the living pulse of a people who have refused to disappear.
We honor the brave souls of Stonewall, of Compton’s Cafeteria, of every small town march and citywide rally that dared to say, We are here. We stand with our queer and trans siblings who face violence, erasure, and hostility, even in this very moment. And we lift high the names and memories of those we have lost: May their light never dim.
Yet we also rejoice.
We rejoice in our laughter, our culture, our spaces, and our love. We rejoice in our transitions, in our chosen families, and in our boundless spirits. We rejoice in the joy of simply being alive and unapologetically ourselves.
Our community is a moving tapestry, a reminder to those who support, love, and even hate us: all queer lives are royal. All trans lives are sacred. And the flame that lightens our existence shall never be blown out, no matter how fierce the winds of oppression blow.
With love, dignity, and unwavering pride,
