-Hi everyone, my name is Ashley,
I am one of the commissioners for the LGBTQ Commission.
I use she and they pronouns
and I'm thrilled to see you all here today.
And especially excited to usher
in another Pride Month here in the Emerald City.
We thank you all for being here today.
As we see it,
more and more legislation attacking our basic dignities
and human rights,
it's so critical that we're able to live loud and proud.
And be an example to future generations
that inclusion and acceptance are a deep
and possible within our political systems.
This is especially monumental year for us
as we celebrate 50 years of Pride in Seattle.
Yes, please clap. This city has been a,
consistently been a refuge for so many queer peoples
who still to this day are not safe in many places
around our country and around the world.
Thank you all for being a part
of this monumental moment here today.
I'd like to start us with a land acknowledgment,
written by Rita Gray.
We would like to acknowledge
that we are on the ancestral lands and waters
of the Coast Salish and Duwamish people and their descendants,
including but not limited to the federally recognized
Muckleshoot Indian Tribe
and the federally recognized Suquamish Tribe.
They are the original, present,
and future stewards of these lands and waters.
We raise our hands and honor them with gratitude.
We also acknowledge the treaty of Point Elliott
and the Medicine Creek Treaty
and understand the importance of these treaties
as they preserve and protect indigenous people
and their sacred homelands. Thank you.
We have a short program planned today
with many esteemed speakers, including Mayor Bruce Harrell,
LGBTQ commissioners Jeremy Erdman and Steven Pray,
the executive directors of queer-focused non-profits
Entre Hermanos and Queer Power Alliance,
as well as city councilmembers
Cathy Moore and Joy Hollingsworth.
There will also be a post-event reception
in the Bertha Landes Knight Room inside City Hall.
We hope you'll join us.
Our first speaker today is Mayor Bruce Harrell.
Bruce Harrell was born and raised in Seattle,
worked as an attorney before serving on city council
and is currently Seattle's mayor.
Seattle's first Asian-American,
first biracial, and second Black mayor.
Bruce served three terms on city council,
where he was a leader in racial equity,
public safety reform, and economic
and educational opportunity.
In 2021, Bruce was elected Mayor of Seattle
on a commitment to address the homelessness crisis,
to ensure public safety for all,
and to ensure trust, hope, and unity
in local government and civic life.
Please welcome Mayor Bruce Harrell.
-Thank you, Ashley. You're using this one here, right?
I told Ashley she has to work on her karaoke game.
Karaoke, you can move around a little bit.
You got something like this.
I'm so happy this is our 50th anniversary of Seattle Pride,
I'm going to try to stay on script,
but I had to tell a quick story.
A few months ago I was conversing
with several mayors of major cities.
And of course we commiserate, you know,
what are your biggest challenges and we're talking about this
and that and this and that.
And I asked them a different question.
I said, what do you take most pride in, in your city?
As Ashley described, I was just born about eight blocks
from here, and I said, a few things.
I talked about our commitment to climate,
climate change, and our air and water.
I talk about our commitment to education
and investing in our babies.
But I said, our commitment to the LGBTQ+ community.
The resilience, the strength, the beauty,
that this is something
that our entire city takes pride in.
And when I say that, I have to remind everyone
that can hear my voice that last year, over 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills
were introduced in state legislatures
across the United States.
And we have to recognize
that we're in the middle of the struggle,
we're not at the end of the struggle.
A beautiful quote was provided to me,
and those that prepare remarks for me
usually get mad at me because I go off script.
But I wanted to share a quote from Marsha Johnson,
who many of you know is an LGBTQ+ liberation activist,
one of the most prominent figures
in the Stonewall uprising in 1969.
Marsha said, "How many years has it taken people to realize
that we are all brothers and sisters
and human beings in the human race?
We struggle to make sure that the voices are heard,
and let me say to the leaders
that I'm seeing right in front of me right now, the leaders --
You are resilient, you are beautiful,
you are beyond measure
in terms of helping us uplift this entire country
with the struggle.
I want to recognize councilmembers --
Council President Sara Nelson, Councilmembers Rob Saka,
Maritza Rivera. I want to recognize --
We're going to have speakers here,
Councilmember Joy Hollingsworth,
Councilmember Cathy Moore.
But these are what we call seasoned leaders.
I'm seasoned. Trailblazers.
Councilmember Sherry Harris,
let's give her a round right now.
Councilmember Tom Rasmussen. Give Tom...
They were fighting the fight as seasoned leaders do
and they still come out on this day
to celebrate what we're trying to do.
The year 2024 marks 50 years of Seattle Pride,
a powerful opportunity to celebrate the historic gains.
The first Pride in Seattle was a celebration
with only about 200 people in Occidental Park,
just a couple of blocks away from where we are here.
The first recognition of Gay Pride Week was in 1977
by Mayor Wes Uhlman.
And the Seattle Pride Parade that year attracted
around 2,000 attendees.
Now, we know we're going to turn it out this year,
so 2,000 is a drop in the bucket.
But as we celebrate this historic milestone,
we know that Pride is more than a parade,
it's more than a concert, it's a heck of a lot of fun,
but it's even more than fun.
It is a chance to uplift and strengthen
and once again let the world know that here in Seattle,
we love, we embrace, we empower our LGBTQ+ community,
and as mayor,
and you all are good to make sure we're accountable,
by the way, we embrace it.
Because we have to champion this effort with you.
You've put your lives, your hearts,
your resources on the line to make sure your voices are heard.
And that is why we take so much pride
in raising a flag like this.
I close by saying this.
And then I say this as someone who was...
called a lot of names, a lot of hurtful names in my life.
You see a person that seems pretty empowered,
but you didn't know the little boy
that would go crying home to a little couple
that didn't go to college, and I look at Mom and Dad
and says, well, why are they treating me this way?
I just want to love like everyone else.
The pain -- we find strength and resilience in our pain often.
So when we talk about Pride, it's a pride of
what we've overcome as a community.
And having said that, with my buzzkill analogy,
I'm going to go back to my happy face
and say that we love you.
And we're proud --
We're prideful and we're proud today, and with that,
we're going to hear Councilmember Cathy Moore
keep our vibe going.
Councilmember Cathy Moore.
-Well, thank you very much, Mayor.
It's really hard to follow those comments and that energy,
but I'll do my best.
So I am so excited to be here today to join
in the celebration of Pride Month
and the raising of the Pride flag here.
As chair of the Seattle Human Rights Commission,
it is my pleasure to be here,
and I just feel so grateful
that we have a commission of the LGBT commission in Seattle.
They do amazing work,
they provide great direction to us in the council.
And I think it's an affirmation of the value and support
that we put in our LGBT community.
Just noting the history that,
in the 1900s, Pioneer Square was a hub for gay bars,
so we have a long history here.
In the '70s, we saw the creation
of more advocacy groups and news outlets,
which led to the legislative milestones
in 1973 of the Seattle ban on discrimination in employment
based on the sexual orientation.
In 1974, Seattle had its first official Gay Pride Week.
And in 1991, Sherry Harris became
the first self-identified lesbian
to be elected to the Seattle City Council.
And in 2002, Tom Rasmussen became
the first self-identified gay man
to be elected to the Seattle City Council.
And now, fast forward to 2024,
we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of Seattle's
official Pride celebration
and our very own Seattle councilmember,
Joy Hollingsworth.
So...
So I want to thank everyone and the Mayor
for putting on this event.
And I really truly am honored to be part
of such a momentous occasion,
50 years of celebrating the creativity,
the art, the self affirmation,
the equality and the joy of the queer community.
In a society that frequently demonizes anyone
and anything different.
It is vital that Seattle continues to speak loudly
and proudly that we love and celebrate
and we'll always stand with our queer community.
Thank you very much.
My pleasure to turn it over
to Councilmember Joy Hollingsworth.
-Thank you. Thank you Cathy.
Sorry, Councilmember Moore, my bad.
I see a second flag there.
Is that a Newport city flag that we can raise?
No? Okay. Too soon? I'm sorry.
Okay. Only the Mayor got that joke, but...
We can raise theirs too, okay?
We know what's going on over there.
Thank you, Councilmember Moore.
We on the second floor
affectionately call Councilmember Moore The Judge.
And so, it's my favorite nickname for her, The Judge.
Whenever you see her, call her The Judge.
I'd also like to recognize the Mayor and his administration.
They've been a great partner to work with,
especially in our office, when it comes to civil rights,
LGBTQIA+ rights, and some ideas
that we have been trying to uplift for the community.
They've always been accessible and available,
so I just want to thank you, give you a shout out, Mayor.
You can clap for that. Clap for the Mayor.
For being supportive.
Also like to recognize -- I know you all have gotten a shout out,
but thank you for accepting our invite,
Ms. Sherry Harris, phenomenal person,
and then also Mr. Tom Rasmussen,
former city councilmembers
who blazed the path for people like me
to be able to be in this position.
Thank you all for coming.
I'd also like to thank -- the Mayor already did --
but Council President Nelson for being here.
Councilmember Rivera,
Councilmember Woo, and also Councilmember Saka.
Did I miss anyone else?
Thank you all for being here as well.
Also to celebrate this occasion
and thank you for all your leadership and your work,
I'd like to thank Deaunte Damper.
I know we've had stuff going on in the central district,
and you've been at the forefront of that
and helping with the community youth.
Just want to thank you and recognize you for that.
Thank you.
Also my good friend Andrew Ashiofu.
Andrew and I ran for the same seat against each other.
But we became really great friends on the campaign trail,
and then also all the work that he's done
for AIDS advocacy and in the community.
Just thank you for everything. Thank you, Andrew.
I also ran against Shobhit. He's right there as well.
Shobhit, my guy. Thank you, my friend.
I don't want you to get mad at me.
Also want to thank Miss Charmaine Sly,
she was a mentor of mine.
Phenomenal, just super helpful,
very active in the gay community,
and just thank you for being here as well.
As you see, we are -- Yeah, clap, please. Thank you.
50 years of Pride.
50 years of struggle, celebration, community,
connection, and love.
This 50 year is special,
and I think what we have recognized this 50 years,
because we have seasoned veterans,
we have young people, old people, new people.
It's a year of, and I said it during Black History Month,
know your history, reveal your potential greatness.
And I think we have to start recognizing the history
that we came from
and all the people that lift us up to be
in this moment right now.
And in 2012, Seattle celebrated the legalization
of same-sex marriage.
And 2012 was special.
We also legalized cannabis.
And Obama was reelected.
So it was like, Capital Hill --
Whoever was on Capital Hill, it was popping.
And I remember that moment of seeing all the joy
on peoples faces, feelings,
hey I can be able to share my love with my partner,
I can be able to be married, having that ring on my finger.
Be able to be connected.
And that is incredibly important and when I'm meeting some of you
and I said this at a council briefing,
I'm meeting a ton of people.
When I'm meeting people that just moved here,
and they say, Joy, I moved here from Texas,
I moved here from Florida, I moved here from the South,
or wherever it is,
and this is the first time in a city where I feel seen,
I feel special, I feel connected,
I feel like I can just be myself,
I can't begin to tell you how much that means to me,
that we can be that city of inclusivity,
of connection, of family, building a home.
I think that's incredible.
And so we have a proclamation,
all nine councilmembers signed it, and the Mayor.
And love to present this to Jeremy Edmond,
did I say that right?
-Erdman.
-Oh my gosh, Erdman, I can't read.
I'm sorry. Jeremy Erdman,
the Pride Proclamation celebrating 50 years.
And I know Jeremy's going to read this,
because he's a better reader than I am.
And we just want to thank you for your service,
thank you for your connection
and the commission for everything.
And just know as your councilmember,
that is representing the gay community,
I take that -- I don't take that lightly.
I take that with very seriousness,
with passion,
and just know that I'm always accessible to you all.
I will continue to fight for our community
and make sure that I really, really uplift
our community as well.
So thank you, love y'all and the next person
I'm introducing is Jeremy, thank you, Erdman.
-Thank you.
Thank you, Councilmember Hollingsworth,
thank you all for being here,
thank you, the rest of City Council,
thank you, Mayor Harrell.
Thank you to the rest of the commissioners
for being in attendance as well.
And of course thank you to our community leaders,
Edgar Longoria and Taylor Farley,
who you all will hear from after this.
It's a great honor to be able to read the proclamation
on the 50th anniversary of Seattle's Pride celebration.
And without further ado,
I'm going to go ahead and get this started.
So, whereas City Council is strengthened
by the diversity of our communities,
ensuring a city where everyone's identity and right
to live freely as their authentic selves are valued,
respected and celebrated.
And whereas, Seattle is home to some of the nations
most active individuals and organizations
working to ensure the full
and equal recognition and protection
of the fundamental rights and liberties of transgender,
lesbian, bisexual, gay, two-spirit, non-binary,
genderqueer individuals and their families.
And whereas, the two-spirit Seattle LGBTQIA+ communities in Seattle
are an integral and vibrant part of the academic, economic,
artistic and social spheres of Seattle.
And whereas,
the month of June was designated as Pride Month
to commemorate the Stonewall riots,
a series of demonstrations led by Black and brown trans women
occurring in June 1969
and generally recognized as the catalyst
of the US 2SLGBTQIA+ civil rights movement.
And whereas Seattle is celebrating
the 50th anniversary of our city's
first lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender
and queer celebration,
an iconic event vital in our unified effort
to forge a more open and just society.
And, whereas during Pride Month and every month,
the city of Seattle stands with
the 2SLGBTQIA+ community
in celebration of the progress we have made
in the fight for justice, inclusion, and equity
while reaffirming our commitment
to support the 2SLGBTQIA+ rights
and whereas our one Seattle vision for a thriving,
innovative, and inclusive city for all neighbors and residents,
we stand firm in the belief that love is love.
And whereas the City of Seattle celebrates LGBTQ Pride Month,
encouraging our residents and neighbors
to celebrate the progress within our culture toward justice,
equality, and full recognition
for 2SLGBTQIA+ persons,
and join in the fight toward an equitable future
free from prejudice and discrimination everywhere.
Now, therefore, the Mayor and Seattle City Council
do hereby proclaim June 2024 to be LGBTQ Pride Month.
Again, thank you all for being here.
And I'm now going to pass the mic to Edgar Longoria.
-Thank you, Jeremy. Alright, let's get this going.
Good morning. Buenos días, mi gente.
Thank you all who have gathered here to honor Pride Month.
City councilmembers, Mayor Bruce Harrell,
City of Seattle staff and community members,
happy Pride Month.
Thank you Seattle LGBTQ Commission for the invitation,
it is an honor
to speak on behalf of my organization, Entre Hermanos.
I am Edgar Longoria, he/him pronouns,
queer Latino social worker, first generation immigrant,
and an advocate for our highest good.
I have the privilege of serving Entre Hermanos
as executive director.
Entre Hermanos is a Seattle LGBTQ non-profit
focused on the health and well-being
of the Latino queer community
for 33 years and counting.
I invite you to collaborate with me
in protecting, resourcing,
and uplifting LGBTQ organizations
like Entre Hermanos.
We need your support to continue the important work of service,
fighting against hate and harmful narratives
with resources that uplift the most vulnerable
in our communities.
Our celebration of Pride Month is a reminder
that Pride is rooted in our resistance
against state violence.
This year alone across this country,
legislatures proposed some 515 anti-LGBTQ bills.
From restricting gender-affirming care,
to drag bans, to banning books that represent us,
our stories, and our history.
Pride is a constant fight for our liberation,
our right to exist fully as our authentic selves,
free from political hate and demonization of our community.
We celebrate Pride, our resistance to oppression.
The fact that we are here as survivors
that have found our light,
our self-identity and our chosen family and friends.
And for many of us, we not only
survived into elders in our community,
but we found our love and our purpose and a safe place
to call home, and that is something to celebrate.
Today we celebrate Pride Month,
we are grateful to live in a sanctuary city
that upholds humanity's values.
In a globalized world,
what we do here inspires across the world.
Let's continue being bold for LGBTQ people everywhere.
The city of Seattle, my home, our citizens,
let's not sit on the opportunity to create a home
for our trans and queer young people,
and showcase the city's queerness with the world to see.
Once again, our community is under attack.
Why? Are we not the medicine?
Are we not here representing beautiful and worthy values?
We are the medicine, we,
who come from our intersections of suffering.
We are the medicine for each other
because our lives are based in love,
freedom, and finding our joy.
Queer folk are the medicine the world needs.
And while we resist against those
that use their religion as an excuse
to limit our self-expression,
we celebrate and dance and hug each other
as we march towards our collective liberation.
Pride is our love letter to our ancestors who led the way.
Pride is our community gathered.
Pride is our expression of joy.
Pride is our power.
On behalf of Entre Hermanos and the entire LGBTQIA community,
thank you, City of Seattle.
Thank you for upholding your citizens
and uplifting our diversity and brilliance.
Thank you, everyone, for being present here today.
Let's continue to love each other,
let's continue to show up for each other,
and let's continue to heal each other
until we heal the world together.
Thank you, everyone.
I now invite our next speaker, Taylor Farley.
-Thank you.
Thank you, thank you for letting me be here.
Thank you to the City of Seattle,
thank you to the LGBTQ Commission
for allowing me to be here. I am honored.
I am Taylor Farley,
I use they/them, and I'm the executive director
of Queer Power Alliance.
Queer Power Alliance's mission is to build collective power
for LGBTQ liberation.
We are committed to building a world
where LGBTQ individuals can thrive with dignity,
respect, and equity.
QPA does this work through advocacy,
education, and organizing.
We engage in policy advocacy
to influence legislative changes
that promote the well-being
and the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community.
We provide educational resources to inform
and empower the LGBTQ individuals about their rights
and the tools available to advocate for themselves.
And we build networks and coalitions --
y'all are part of that --
within the LGBTQIA+ communities
and other marginalized groups
to strengthen collective power.
As we heard, today is the year
we start with the 50th anniversary in Seattle,
celebrating LGBTQIA+ Pride.
The journey of this milestone has been grueling
and often hostile.
I get emotional on this.
We've reluctantly fought for our right to be recognized
and heard by community leaders and legislators.
Now, more than ever, we must unite our voices
and stay vigilant.
We are fortunate to have incredible LGBTQ+ Black-
and trans-led organizations here in Seattle
and across Washington State
working tirelessly for the queer, trans,
and Black trans liberation.
June is a time to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community
and our liberation.
Let us remember that Marsha P. Johnson sparked the movement,
and we must continue to fight
for the Black trans women and trans youth,
following the path she set.
It is imperative that we work together to combat systems
of oppression and harmful initiatives
like initiative 2081, the parent bill of rights.
We cannot allow the right-wing conservatives
to undermine our efforts
and target LGBTQIA+ youth,
especially trans and non-binary youth.
We stand in solidarity with communities of color,
immigrants, people with disabilities, elders and youth
for a better future for the LGBTQIA+ community.
Because we are part of that community.
When leaders close down our borders,
trans women and children die.
When cities criminalize homelessness, LGBTQ youth die.
When funds are diverted from the LGBTQIA+
Black, brown, and indigenous organizations,
are instead provided more policing,
Black, brown, and indigenous LGBTQ
and Black trans people die.
We will continue to fight
until the lives of all LGBTQ, Black trans women, trans youth,
and our Black, brown, and indigenous friends and family
are no longer in harm's way.
[ Applause ] June is a time -- Thank you.
June is a time to remember
that we have -- what we have accomplished.
We celebrate with our allies,
but it is not to be forgotten that all the other months,
it is us who are fighting for our right to live and thrive.
Our strength lies in unity as we work together,
not in silos.
We build power, collective power
when we work together and celebrate together.
Thank you.
-Alright, it's time for what we've all come here for.
We're going to join and raise the flag.
Alright. So we're going to take turns raising this together.
So anyone who is interested please kind of try
and make your way over here.
We're going to start with our LGBTQ commissioners
and the speakers here today.
And we're each going to take a couple of cranks at the flag
until it gets all the way to the top.
It'll make its way inch by inch,
so we definitely need as much support as we can.
Alright, let's get to it.
[ Laughter, indistinct chatter ]
[ Cheers and applause ]
-My name is Steven Pray and I use he/him/his pronouns
and I'm here speaking on behalf of the Seattle LGBTQ Commission.
First, I want to thank all the speakers before me
from our community partners,
the Mayor, city council and to my fellow commissioners.
Your words and showing up today means a lot to us.
Second, I want to start by recognizing some of the history
that brings us here for Pride Month.
In June of 1970, the first Pride Parades were held
in New York, L.A., and Chicago.
This was the year after the Stonewall uprisings
and why we celebrate Pride during the month of June.
The Stonewall uprising was an uprising of LGBTQ protesters
against the police which spanned over six days.
And make no mistake,
the progress made over the generations
did not come by asking nicely, begging for acceptance,
or by changing the hearts and minds of moderates among us.
Progress was made because queer people,
including many trans women of color, demanded it.
And now we are here celebrating a historic 50 years
of Pride in Seattle.
The good news is, we have a lot
to celebrate today in the City of Seattle.
After all, this is Pride,
so centering joy is something
we're going to do all month long.
And Seattle and the State of Washington have a lot
to be proud of this month.
Our city and our state have been at the forefront
of passing laws protecting LGBTQ people
from discrimination in places of employment,
housing, and other places of public accommodation.
Washington State was one of the first nations in the country
to pass marriage equality and even more impressively,
by a vote of the people.
In addition, our city has elected
openly gay and lesbian mayors and city councilmembers.
And a special shout out to Councilmember Hollingsworth,
representing the third district.
I don't know where Joy went.
We are so proud to have you on council,
and you represent our community tremendously.
And our city has bucked the national trend
of relentless political attacks
on the most vulnerable within our community.
Our transgender siblings, we must never stop fighting for.
If we are not centering the needs of transgender people
this month, then we are not doing Pride right.
And while there is much to celebrate,
we must not forget the fight
for equality and liberation is far from over.
People often think Seattle and Washington
are much more progressive than they really are.
Just two weeks ago, the city of Yakima
rejected a proposed proclamation declaring June as Pride Month
by a vote of five to two.
And this disappointing, symbolic vote
doesn't over come close to what many
of our LGBTQ siblings across the country
are facing in terms of hateful, discriminatory legislation.
Speaking of Yakima, let's talk about rural Washingtonians and
how many LGBTQ people in those communities come to Seattle.
And then let's talk about one of the reasons
we see such a disproportionate number of our LGBTQ neighbors,
who are living outside in the city.
We must, yes must, do better than allowing more
and more of our neighbors to become houseless.
And then trying to address the problem
through ineffective sweeps.
Instead, we need paths to accessible,
affordable, and importantly, affirming housing.
And we need bold politicians with bold visions to afford this
and challenge the status quo in this city.
When I was a child my mom, who's back there somewhere,
she told me, Steven,
where there is a will, there is a way.
And that's why I believe that we will solve
the unaffordable housing in our city,
because there's a lot of people up here
who have the will to change that.
Pride is more than just a parade or hanging rainbows,
flags in the window.
Pride is a political statement,
a one about challenging the political establishment.
Capital Hill is known for its vibrant LGBTQ community
and it's history as the queer epicenter of our city.
But, as of almost four years ago exactly,
that history changed.
We saw an inspirational uprising in Capital Hill in 2020
in response to the murder of George Floyd,
where thousands and thousands of people demanded
that we no longer ignore the blatant systemic racism
plaguing our nation and our city.
One of the results of those protests was that the city
committed to using the participatory budget process
for a very small portion of our city's budget.
I would be remiss to forget to remind everyone,
especially our city council,
that as budget season is upon us,
we must not turn back the promises
that were made to our communities who fought for
and were promised a participatory budgeting process.
I can say, without the slightest bit of hesitation,
that every single member of the Seattle LGBTQ Commission
plans to hold our city to those commitments.
I'm a proud member of this community and this city,
despite our flaws,
Seattle is a great city, one of the greatest in the world.
And I truly mean that.
Seattle always has and always will be
an example of what happens
when community comes together to create excellence.
I want to conclude by saying
our commission looks forward to working with our city officials
to address issues near and dear to the LGBTQ community.
Public policy around housing, public safety, and healthcare
will never be adequate for our community
unless we have a seat at the table.
There is no easy solution to solving
the problems facing our city.
But we are a resilient community.
And there is no obstacle that we cannot overcome.
We will take a page from our elders' book
and push by whatever means necessary
to effectuate the changes we need.
Again, I want to thank everyone here today
and also invite folks up to the Bertha Knight Landes Room inside
for a couple minutes to join us for some lunch.
We have some delicious tamales
thanks to Frelard Tamales,
a local queer and Mexican owned business.
And thanks to the sponsorship
from Office of Economic Development.
And what better way to kick off some Pride festivities
than by hanging out and enjoying some good food and company?
So, thanks. Happy Pride.
[ Cheers and applause ]