A Letter to Our Community
As a Queer & Non-Binary People of Color led youth-centered organization, Rainbow Pride Youth Alliance we grieve for the loss of Black lives taken — for Ahmaud Arbery, Rekia Boyd, George Floyd, Tony McDade, Laquan McDonald, Nina Pop, Breonna Taylor and the countless others who had no one to witness their end. Today we also acknowledge that we have been here before, we remember Tyisha Miller and say enough is enough. All of these incidents are stark reminders of why we must speak out when the police, the state, the prison industrial complex, and the systemic racism of this nation claim — too often with impunity — Black Lives. We all must come together to address anti-Blackness in ALL of our communities. At this moment, re-imagining and re-making youth-led, multigenerational spaces in which healthy dialogue, community-engaged education, and civic engagement create equitable environments for Queer/Trans youth and youth of color to thrive in is essential. Rainbow Pride remains committed to our mission to provide a safe, healthy, and enriching environment for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, and intersex (LGBTQI) youth of the Inland Empire… We believe in and are inspired by the foundational principles of the Movement for Black Lives; “All Black Lives Matter: Queer Black Lives, Trans Black Lives, Femme Black Lives, Non-Binary Black Lives, Incarcerated Black Lives, Formerly Incarcerated Black Lives, Working Class Black lives, Black Sex Workers Lives, Differently Abled Black Lives, Black Women’s Lives, Immigrant Black Lives, Black Elderly Lives, Black Youth Lives.” ALL BLACK LIVES MATTER!!! Period. We stand in support of Black Queer & Transgender organizers and QTPOC who are on the front lines of our movement in the Inland Empire and nationally, leading direct actions, and therefore, as organizers, we fight with them. We stand with all of them in solidarity, in service, and in action and we ask that you stand with them as well.We commit to walking alongside our young people in their pain, anger, distancing, and, most importantly, their demand for justice through the following actions:
- Use our virtual platform to amplify and center the voices of Black youth and other people of color in calling attention to systemic injustices that affect their lives and their futures. White Supremacy is a direct threat to the lives of all Black and POC youth.
- Continue to provide safe places for Queer/Trans youth and their allies to be heard, be empowered to lead, and to heal.
- We commit to healing ourselves while working to heal our communities. We commit to revolutionary self-care and unapologetic authenticity, by redefining strength, embracing wellness, and providing a clearinghouse of relevant and culturally centered resources.
- We will continue building our collective capacity with other grassroots organizations in the Inland Empire (San Bernardino and Riverside Counties) and to go beyond conversations or training and begin to advocate for laws and policies within our region.
- We will use our platform to strategize, communicate, and educate our communities on the harmful impact of homophobia, racism, and transphobia.
- We continue our work with existing and new partners in the call for the strategic reallocation of resources, funding, and responsibility from police towards community-based models of safety, support, and prevention, including the implementation of community safety oversight boards. We support the campaign to defund Policing and the abolition work of our partners.
- We commit to the training of the next generation of anti-racist Queer and Trans organizers that are committed to honoring and fighting for Black Lives.
- RPYA will continue to utilize our resources to maintain and expand our Perris based LGBTQ Wellness Collaborative that centers the lives and experience of LGBTQ youth of color and other marginalized identities, supports positive self-identity development, and works to heal trauma among queer and trans youth of color.
Community Solidarity Letters Rainbow Pride Youth Alliance has signed on to: