San Jose, CA – On Saturday, June 22, around 200 people gathered in Saint James Park to celebrate the first San Jose Peoples’ Pride.. The event focused primarily on reclaiming the radical militant origins of Pride.

Drusie Kazanova of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization emceed the event and started the program by saying, “We are here today to take back the radical, militant origins of pride. We do not align with the corporations and politicians who try to co-opt our movement while they enable the genocide that Israel is committing against Palestinians.” She emphasized the importance of calling out mainstream Pride celebrations’ ties with genocidal politicians and corporations, such as Lockheed Martin and Nancy Pelosi.

Kazanova added, “Pride is a commemoration and celebration of the Stonewall uprising of 1969. Stonewall was a response to police violence, state repression, and systemic homophobia and transphobia.”

Kazanova finished by drawing parallels between the struggle against police brutality, for the full equality of LGBTQ people, and for a free Palestine, saying, “The oppressed peoples of this world have a common enemy in U.S. imperialism. Our struggles are interconnected. Every blow against our common enemy weakens U.S. imperialism and brings us closer to our collective liberation.”

Tarentz Charite, Haitian-American and member of Students for a Democratic Society, closed the program by speaking about the similarities between the struggles of Caribbean nations and Palestine in fighting against imperialism and neo-colonial foreign policy. “The Dominican Republic receives military training and violent border technology from the Zionist regime of Israel,” Charite stated, emphasizing the direct role that Israel plays in the national oppression of not only Palestine, but other nations as well.

The event was organized by a coalition made up of Students for a Democratic Society, Freedom Road Socialist Organization and Silicon Valley Immigration Committee, along with other organizations

After the program, San Jose Peoples' Pride continued for several hours with live DJs, bands, resource tables and vendors. Organizations present included the local San Jose Brown Berets Chapter, Food Not Bombs, and Justice for Palestinians. Amigos de Guadalupe, a local immigrant’s rights organization, sold tacos to fundraise for their campaign to update and restore immigration registry (HR 1511).

Organizers plan to hold San Jose Peoples’ Pride annually in order to build the popular movement for LGBTQ liberation and create a people-powered, community-oriented pride that prioritizes LGBTQ liberation over the corporate interests.

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