Today is June 1st, what many people know as Pride Month. We wouldn’t have Pride if it wasn’t for protesters, many of whom were drag queens and Black + Brown trans people, who stood in the face of oppressive laws, transphobia, homophobia, police brutality, and overwhelmingly hostile + violent attitudes toward our communities. We wouldn’t have Pride without leaders and activists like Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera. We wouldn’t have Drag Race on VH1 in homes across America without ball culture from Harlem and artists like Willi Ninja and Crystal LaBeija. We wouldn’t have PREP and HIV medication if it wasn’t for the LGBTQ+ community coming together in the 80s and 90s in the midst of the AIDS pandemic — when it still wasn’t safe or convenient for us to do so, and when it was decimating an entire generation of people — and protesting a government and industries that ignored us and, by doing so, actively refused to help us.

What we know as Pride is truly thanks to Black + Brown people. What we have as rights and platforms are truly thanks to people who protested and fought for them. We stand with the protesters and activists today, tomorrow, and beyond. Black Lives Matter.

Though there is still so much work to be done to gain full equality + support across the LGBTQ+ rainbow, our community wouldn’t be where we are today without protest and activism. Please check out the resources and links below to learn and help support the Black Lives Matter movement.

We the Protestors, a national organization working for Black liberation and to end police violence. They include Campaign Zero, the comprehensive policy solution guide.

NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF) is working hard across the US using the legal system to support protests.

Marsha P. Johnson Institute (MPJI) specifically organizes around the liberation of Black trans people and is run by Black trans women.

National Bail Fund Network is a directory of bail funds and legal funds you can donate to. For example, you can donate to bail out protestors, but also to immigrants’ legal cases.

National Bail Out is another bailout organization and they specifically support bailing out Black women and femme guardians and caretakers.