Gratitude may feel like an impossible emotion to rip from the jaws of 2020, yet as I write this to you, what echos through my mind is the strength and beauty that is queer resilience. Our diversity, creativity, resolve, and battle-tested brilliance have helped this community shine.
We shifted and heard or spoke the word “pivot” more times than we ever thought possible. We learned to physically separate from the people we love in order to keep them and ourselves healthy and safe. Our staff, board, volunteers, community partners, sponsors, and entertainers adapted our programs into virtual spaces thus helping to keep our community connected, informed, and engaged. Our community saw the value of Pride’s year-round education and advocacy efforts, as more individual donors stepped up to support our work than ever before in our organization’s history. Together, we turned out LGBTQ voters, got our community counted in the Census, and reached nearly three-quarters of a million people with our educational content.
Together, we distributed masks to LGBTQ seniors, grocery funds to employees at LGBTQ- owned businesses and educational resources to LGBTQ youth. We took to the streets to call for police reform and justice for Black lives. We found safe ways to mourn the loss of our trans siblings and ensure that their stories are not forgotten.
As you take a pause today to reflect on gratitude, know that everyone here in the Pride Family is grateful for you. We aren’t back to normal yet, but hope rests clearly on the horizon. We have been steadied and carried this far by our collective pursuit of justice with joy in the face of adversity, and together we will arrive safely. Together We Rise.
With Gratitude and hope,
Fernando Zweifach López
Pronouns: They/Them/Theirs
Executive Director
San Diego Pride
P.S. Please consider queering philanthropy this #GivingTuesday with a donation to San Diego Pride’s year-round programs.
Fernando Lopez was the Executive Director of San Diego Pride. Lopez’s years of LGBT advocacy, nonprofit management, public education, diversity consulting, media relations, guest lectures, and organizing have made them a consistent presence ensuring the struggles of the LGBT community are ever visible.
