It was a joy and a pleasure to dance, laugh, and get real silly goofy with y’all during Pride weekend. From chatting under the rainbow arches, to waking (some of) you up from a nap on the grass with water and electrolytes – it was all a joy.
As a trans Latina from Florida, I sit at the intersection of transness and a family history marked by the violence of U.S. immigration policy — my own mother and extended family were taken from me under the Obama administration.
Living both as part of, and yet distinctly apart from, our community forces me to reflect on the displacement of our people in the United States. Transgender folks are pushed out of safe spaces within the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, and geographically uprooted from our homes. As a daughter of migrants, I also carry the weight of the brutality of immigration enforcement — in recent weeks, ICE detained not one, not two, but three parents outside of local elementary schools, leaving their family & children behind.
What ties these displacements together? The same government that pushes trans people out of healthcare and housing is the one funding ICE to rip apart immigrant families. When Congress strips 40% of children in this country of Medicaid coverage and then hands ICE a $75 billion budget increase, that is not just a policy choice. That is state-sanctioned violence.
America First But Americans Last
In a time where political rhetoric has shifted sharply to the right, anti-LGBTQIA+ actors are chomping at the bit — and they sit at the center of our federal government. We live in a political moment in which American success and wealth is paramount to all. However, when selling a vision of economic prosperity – they demonize our people and instead pass policies that further exacerbate wealth inequality and inequitable health outcomes.
Right now, the federal government is removing funding for critical health care, including HIV-related care, and coverage for undocumented people. Trans people and migrants are being scapegoated for crises that are actually the result of economic inequality and white supremacy. Those that live at the intersections of marginalized identities find themselves without access to health care at a time when their wellbeing is most at risk.
While the guardrails of civic society and law are working to preserve and expand LGBTQIA+ rights, we need you to show up. You, your friends, family, and community are the last line of defense against creeping authoritarianism.
Here’s how you can take action:
Con Orgullo,
San Diego Pride’s favorite outreach gal
San Diego Pride raises funds primarily through festival ticket and beverage sales, and through sponsorships, and exhibitor fees. These funds support San Diego Pride’s community philanthropy which has distributed more than $2.5 million in advancement of its mission to foster pride, equality, and respect for all lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities locally, nationally, and globally.
