Fight Back! News

News and Views from the People's Struggle

LGBTQ

By Jess Sundin

Protestors march through the street with an audience watching on the sidewalks. The march carries a large banner that reads "Take Back Pride. Stand Up, Fight Back".

Minneapolis, MN – For the seventh year running, community members disrupted the Twin Cities Pride parade, June 30, to protest the inclusion of cops and corporations. Their inclusion comes at the expense of queer community members who want the event to honor the spirit of radical resistance Pride came out of and to continue the fight for LGBTQ liberation. This year, more than 1000 protesters marched with the Taking Back Pride Coalition for not only LGBTQ liberation, but especially for Palestinian liberation.

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By Oliver Cheese

Five young queer and trans people of hold up peace signs and pose smiling. 

Tallahassee, FL – On June 30, two days after the 55th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising, students and community members gathered at Tallahassee Students for a Democratic Society’s annual pride talent show, one of the longest-running non-corporate pride events in the city. 

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By staff

Activists commemorated the radical roots of the Stonewall riots with a rally at the Florida capitol.  | Ben Grant/Fight Back! News

Tallahassee, FL – On June 29, the Tallahassee Community Action Committee (TCAC) along with other activist organizations held a rally in remembrance of Stonewall, the 1969 queer uprising that led to the creation of the current LGBTQ rights movement that exists around the world.

Around ten attendees joined together to talk about the history of the Stonewall Riot and the progressive movements that represent the spirit of Stonewall that exist today.

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By staff

Peoples' Pride in San Jose, California.  | Staff/Fight Back! News

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.

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By staff

Hundreds of Pro-Palestine protestors march in the street holding signs and banners.

Denver, CO – On Sunday, June 23, the Colorado Palestine Coalition (CPC) organized a protest at Denver’s annual Pride Parade to draw attention to the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people and the complicity of companies like Lockheed Martin in that genocide. Denver’s Pride Parade was sponsored by several arms contractors that sell weapons to Israel, like Lockheed Martin and BAE Systems. The protest was attended by about 500 people.

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By Lucas Harrell

New Orleans protesters stand in front of Audubon Place holding anti-Trump and anti-GOP signs and flags.  | Staff/Fight Back! News

New Orleans, LA – On June 24, Donald Trump arrived in New Orleans for a fundraising dinner as protesters disrupted the event with a rally. The protest was organized by the Queer and Trans Community Action Project (QTCAP) and New Orleans for Community Control of the Police (NOCOP). They chanted and demonstrated the opinions of the working-class queer and Black people of New Orleans, with additional speakers in solidarity to the Palestinian liberation movement.

The dinner, hosted by shipyard CEO Donald Bollinger and real estate magnate Joe Canizaro, cost $3300 per ticket for one person, with an additional approximate $22,000 for an opportunity to take photos with Trump. Bollinger and Canizaro are two of the most generous donors to the Republican Party in Louisiana.

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By Victor Rodriguez

Los Angeles, CA – On June 16, in the heart of Boyle Heights, a neighborhood known for its Chicano culture and activism, hundreds gathered for Orgullo Fest. The yearly festival brings together different communities and allows participants to celebrate both their Chicano and LGBTQ identities in an important cultural and social celebration.

Orgullo Fest was born out of a grassroots effort by local activists and leaders who recognized the need for an inclusive space. Juarez, an events organizer from the neighborhood, managed this year’s celebration.

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By Freedom Road Socialist Organization

Step onto the stage of history in Milwaukee, July 15, as thousands march on the Republican National Convention.

More than 100 organizations are participating in this effort, spearheaded by the Coalition to March on the RNC, and mobilizations are taking place in cities across the U.S. As Trump is raking in money from billionaire donors and stepping up his campaign for the White House, it’s vital that all of was who support Justice, progress and peace should be in the streets raising the banner of opposition.

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By staff

Omar Flores, co-chair of the Coalition to March on the RNC, announces a lawsuit to get march permit.  | Fight Back! News/staff

Milwaukee, WI – After a year of denied permits for their proposed march, the Coalition to March on the RNC 2024 has filed a lawsuit against the city of Milwaukee.

Along with a watered-down “free speech zone,” the city of Milwaukee has stoked repression by trying to implement “hard” and “soft” security zones around the Fiserv Forum, where the Republicans are planning to select their 2024 presidential nominee this July.

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By Lucas Harrell

Mandeville residents carry a giant Pride flag across the street.  | Fight Back! News/Naomi Retherford

Mandeville, LA – In a groundbreaking advance for the Louisiana LGBTQ rights movement, a Pride parade has premiered in Mandeville for the first time on June 1. Organized by Queer Northshore, over 500 people signed up to participate in the historic march called “PRIDE Northshore 2024.” The parade’s slogan was, “Y’all Means All.”

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