Dear Members of the LGBTQ Community, Our Allies and Community Partners,
While last year we celebrated the 40th Anniversary of our liberation at Stonewall on the last Sunday of June in 1969, we are celebrating another anniversary in 2010. And we need to do it right.
On the last Sunday in June 1970, Gay Liberation Front and Gay Activists Alliance, in commemoration of the Stonewall riots, staged the first “Gay Liberation Day March.” Organizers in Los Angeles and San Francisco also held marches that day.
We have much to celebrate. As a community we have struggled and fought for our very lives. Together, we have accomplished what at one time was a fantasy at best. Our sexual liberation has been celebrated every year now for 40 years with what was once a march and is now a parade, in the streets of New York and dozens of other cities across the country and the world.
This year, in light of the major battles we have ahead of us, we are asking for all of you to join us in taking back pride. While we have so much to be proud of in what we have accomplished as a community, this fight is far from over. We want our community to not only remember those who have fought and died before us, but to forge ahead in the struggle -- so that our children may one day live truly free and equal lives in this country.
The organizers of Pride Marches around the country work tirelessly over the course of the year to bring us the most inclusive marches and celebrations in the world. We want to help those organizers by working with them to implement plans for education and protest within our marches.
We know that our community is made up of every race, creed, religious affiliation and political background imaginable. We come from everywhere, from Africa to New Zealand. We represent Conservatives and Socialists. We are made up of Catholics and Buddhists alike. The time has come to embrace our ideals and differences and remember that what we have in common as a community - is our strength.
For Pride 2010, we ask that organizers and participants of marches around this great country take this opportunity to be heard. Yell. Scream. Chant. Wear your chaps and thongs, but carry a sign while you do it. Put on your most sequined ball gown, but shout for your rights as you flaunt your fabulousness. The sheer number of people who turn out in the streets this June will send a clear message around the world that we are not content with what we have. We are somebody. We deserve full equality.
If you’re marching with a group, ask your group what they are angry about. It could be Marriage Inequality, or Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. It could be that in 31 states, you can still be fired for being gay (see the “What Are You Angry About” section on this page.)
We owe it to our community and to those young gay people who are still afraid to say who they are to TAKE BACK PRIDE. Make your signs. Create your chants. It’s time for us all to remember this is a march, not a parade. This is OUR celebration of who we arx e and it has the potential to once again be something we are ALL truly proud of.
On Tuesday, May 11th in New York City, we will be having a community town hall discussion about what we can do to Take Back Pride. We encourage all groups participating in Pride to take part. And for those of you outside New York, the meeting will be posted on YouTube. You may also visit www.TakeBackPride.org to see how YOU can help Take Back Pride.
Jamie McGonnigal
Lt. Dan Choi
U.S. National Guard
Alan Bounville
Member-Queer Rising, New York
Robin McGehee
Wayne Besen
Founder & Executive Director
Truth Wins Out
Brandon Brock
Western Queens for Marriage Equality
Tituss Burgess
Broadway Actor - The Little Mermaid
Andrew Conte
Wes Culwell
Writer/Director - Picket Fence Entertainment
Marti Gould Cummings
Co-Founder, Broadway Speaks OUT!
Chap James Day
Out Astoria
Integrity NYC / Integrity USA Province II Coordinator
Carri DeVito
Member - Queer Rising, New York
Natasha Dillon
Member - Queer Rising, New York
Matt Doyle
Broadway Actor - Bye Bye Birdie
Peter Dunn
Daisy Eagan
Eric Ethington
PRIDE In Your Community
Justin Elzie
Activist & Writer
Todd (Tiff) Fernandez, Esq
David John Fleck
Get Equal; Activist
Whitney G-Bowley
Marcelo Gomes
Principal Dancer - American Ballet Theatre
Jake Goodman
Member - Queer Rising, New York
Courtney Grosman
Founder of Out Anime
www.outanime.net
Jimmy Gruender
Human & Equal Rights Organizers
H.E.R.O
www.be-a-hero.us
Blake Hayes
Gary A. Van Horn, Jr.
President; The Delta Foundation
Jeremy Hooper
Jordan Fife Hunt
Hugh Hysell
Corey Johnson
Tom Johnson
Partner in Therapy & Barrage
Jenny Kanelos
Broadway Impact
Adam Kern
C.D. Kirven
Jim Klever-Weis
Executive Producer - Ugly Betty
Sergio Augusto Llanos
Member - Queer Rising, New York
Christin Meador
Founder, Proud Ally
http://proudally.org
Jennifer Michaud
www.circa71design.com - Take Back Pride logo
Rebecca Louise Miller
Actor - “Prayers for Bobby”
Jennifer Mintzer
David Mixner
Rich Murray
Member-Queer Rising, New York
Scott Nevins
TV Personality truTV’s “The Smoking Gun Presents”
Dan Nicoletta
Photographer
Ann Northrop
Co-host, GAY USA
Br. Michael C. Oboza
Open Bisexual Orthodox Catholic Eastern Rite monk
Chicago LGBTI activist 1995-2010
Molly O’Leary
Rory O’Malley
Broadway Impact
Ken O’Neill
Author of “The Marrying Kind”
Theresa Piliero
Wife, Mother, Straight Ally
Jerry Pritikin
Photographer / Chicago
www.jerrypritikin.blogspot.com
Randy Redd
We are the Song:After the Storm
Arbender J. Robinson
Broadway Actor - HAIR
Michael Rogers
PageOneQ.com
BlogActive.com
Chris Ryan
Chris Ryan Productions
DeAngelo Scott
President & CEO
Orlando Housemaids, Inc.
Vlada Von Shats
Vlada Lounge NYC
Vlada Lounge Miami
Christopher Sieber
Broadway Actor - Shrek, The Kid
Melissa Sklarz
Audrey Smith
co-founder, Justice League Activate
State College, PA
Guy Smith & Robert Montenegro
Activists: MENY, The Power, Married 10/17/08 Tujunga, CA.
Jessie Standafer
Robin Tyler
The Equality Campaign
Tom Viola
Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS
David Warren
Thomas C. Waters
Blogger, http://www.thomaswaters.com
Stuart Wilber
Activist
Member Seattle OUTprotest
If you would like to add your name or your organization to this list, please email us at takebackpride@gmail.com.