A campaign launched yesterday to stage a march during L.A. Pride in protest of a possible erosion of LGBT rights under the Trump administration has attracted 15,000 followers on Facebook as of publication of this story, with more than 5,000 people saying they will attend the event.
The Los Angeles LGBTQIA Protest March is being promoted by Brian Pendleton and Chad Goldman, who are partners, as well as Hazel Jade Prejean, Alan Uphold and Jeff Olde. Pendleton and Goldman have been active in a number of LGBT organizations. For example, they are founding donors of the Pendleton/Goldman PrEP Program at APLA Health. Prejean is a transgender activist who sings with the Trans Chorus of Los Angeles. Uphold is a communications and public speaking consultant who is former development director for the Point Foundation. Olde is executive vice president for programming and development at E! Entertainment.
“We want to see this year’s Pride Parade changed to a protest march!” says a Facebook post about the protest. “Floats and marching bands are nice when we are not at war. Now is the time we shake things up and take to the streets. West Hollywood and Los Angeles are always at the forefront of issues. We must be outspoken visible leaders in this fight! Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, diverse, queer, intersex and asexual-spectrum individuals matter.”
Pendleton said his group is talking with Christopher Street West (CSW) organizer of the annual Pride event. “They are committed to being helpful in this effort.”
CSW board member Craig Bowers said his organization “is actively working collaboratively with Brian Pendleton and our numerous community partners to create programming on our traditional parade Sunday in solidarity with the proposed National Pride March occurring on June 11th. At this time, specific details are still being worked out.”
Bowers was referencing a series of marches that will take place across the country on June 11, with the major one in Washington, D.C. The Washington march was inspired by the Women’s March on Jan. 21, which attracted millions of participants around the world to express their concern about Trump administration proposals to roll back the rights of women, immigrants and others.
CSW should move the march to downtown Grand Ave-Civic Center Park.
Ty Geltmaker
I’d soooo love too volunteer
Jimmy is absolutely right! This should make Pride more relevant and energizing. Surviving Trump with be this generations struggle as surviving AIDS was for mine.
This will show a community at work. If not in Washington, I will gladly participate. I for one don’t care how many letters are used, as long as EVERYONE in my community feels safe and included.
Seriously? Negative comments about a full-force attempt to make Pride relevant again after all the complaining on this site? This is an opportunity for the entire community to join and to be included in whatever form they would like, as well as any supporters, so please try to think about how you might participate in a way that doesn’t make you look like one of the hecklers in the balcony on the Muppet Show.
How many MORE letters must we add to identify who we are? QIA – really? Pretty soon we may have the entire alphabet. I’d suggest we use LGBT+ and leave it at that. Yeesh !
please. move on.
take care of you own people first.
meth. homeless. HIV and so much more SHOW BIZ is over.