The Capital Pride Alliance kicked off its celebration of the LGBTQ+ community, Capital Pride 2019, in Washington on Friday, and the party won’t stop until Sunday, June 9.
The annual celebration dates all the way back to its founding in 1975 when it was originally called Gay Pride Day and attracted a mere 2,000 people. Since then, Capital Pride has grown into a massive, weeklong gathering of more than 100,000 people every year.
Executive Director of the Capital Pride Alliance Ryan Bos told The Globe Post this year’s theme, “shhhOUT,” is meant to represent the history of being silent in the closet as well as those currently trying to silence the LGBTQ+ community in the present.
“Whether it be rolling back protections for the LGBTQ+ community and specifically the Trans community, these are the things we continuously fight,” he said.
Bos also pointed to other issues such as rising hate crimes, violence, and suicide rates as well as discrimination against the LGBT community in the workplace and the military.
“Those are all things that all of us coming together for pride and all of the communities around the country and the world are here to fight,” Bos said.
D.C. area artist and activist Xemiyulu Manibusan Tapepechul said all around the world black and indigenous trans women are dying the most.
“Just this month over 22 black and indigenous trans women have been murdered on the American continent alone, and that’s really tragic,” Tapepechul told The Globe Post.
Read the full story about Capital Pride 2019 on our sister website The Globe Post.