San Diego Pride

Dear Pride Family, As we hurtle towards Pride week in San Diego, packed with events, meet-ups, mixers, protests and the gathering of friends, we are reminded of the true function and power of coming together in community, Pride, and queer joy.  In just a couple of months, Pride season will have passed and election season will be upon us. As we’ve seen in past years, the election will bring up heated conversations about our community members - targeting our gender expression, identity, and sexuality - which  will reverberate through our TVs, our social media channels, at the water cooler, in public restrooms, and even on the playground. It will be then that the queer joy we’ve experienced during Pride, the friends and lovers we’ve connected with, the memories we’ve made with each other, and the social organizations we’ve become engaged with will be the most deeply needed. Queer joy and liberation are connected. We can’t keep fighting for liberation without the buoy of queer joy and the community that sustains us. We intentionally begin Pride Week in San Diego with She Fest - a FREE, volunteer-led program organized by 2SLGBTQIA+ women, non-binary people, and people who find community with these identities. While the premise of the event is simple, this is critical community-building work that creates - through the process of its planning - an invaluable social support system for individuals in our community who are too often kept out of leadership. The skills the all-volunteer committee learns, the friendships they make with each other, the queer joy the event brings to the larger community, are all critical outcomes. These will pay dividends to our community when the Pride flags are tucked away and the negativity of the upcoming election cycle places LGBTQIA+ people in its crosshairs.  On a personal note for Jen, She Fest is the only LGBTQIA+ community event where they have never been misgendered. For Sarafina, it is the only community event where she was not treated as “ not queer enough” as a femme lesbian. These acknowledgments of the complexity of identities can be so powerful for people to experience. The great exhale you feel when you are in a space where you are understood and dare we say known. We invite EVERYONE to join us at She Fest on Saturday - bring your dog (with booties for that hot asphalt!) for the return of the doggie fashion show, get connected to local LGBTQIA+ organizations, enjoy some phenomenal entertainment, and engage with all the activities that our brilliant She Fest committee has put together. Or help She Fest reach their goal of $10,000 in donations for their 10th anniversary!  We’ve got a long week of Pride events coming at ya, and we’re so excited to start this week with you in Hillcrest!  In Solidarity, Jen LaBarbera (they/them) & Sarafina Scapicchio (she/her) Interim Co-Executive Directors Full newsletter >> mailchi.mp/sdpride/3024

🌈 We are proud to announce Options For All as San Diego Pride's Accessibility Partner! 🎉✨ With their support, we're ensuring Pride events are inclusive for everyone. Join us in celebrating diversity and accessibility at San Diego Pride! 🏳️🌈 #OptionsForAll

Dear Pride Family, There’s so much happening during Pride Week, so we've put together 50 things to know before you go! We’re combining celebration and liberation while we honor the folks who are Making History Now. There’s truly something for everyone! Check out the full Top 50 list on our website. See you at Pride! With Pride, Jen LaBarbera (they/them) & Sarafina Scapicchio (she/her) Interim Co-Executive Directors Full newsletter >> https://loom.ly/qrjE6Lg

Dear Pride Family, As Pride organizers, it’s our job to create that celebration every year, and that celebration is vital. We need these spaces of joy, these spaces to be so unapologetically ourselves, in order to shore ourselves up for what feels like a constant battle. And that unbridled queer and trans joy and unabashed embrace of our identities is itself its own form of resistance. And: Pride commemorates the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall uprising, when our community members fought back against state-sanctioned police brutality and sparked what is now the global Pride movement. Pride is a celebration, yes, and it is also protest – the purpose of this celebration is liberation. We’ve seen a dramatic increase in anti-LGBTQIA+ rhetoric and policy across the country, including here in San Diego, over the past few years. We have made progress that deserves to be celebrated, yes, and we still have a lot of work to do to achieve full pride, equality, and respect for all LGBTQIA+ people locally, nationally, and globally, and that work requires intentional reconnection to our roots as a movement for social justice and to our roots in throwing the first brick (*or penny, or punch, or shot glass - the stories vary!) at Stonewall 55 years ago. During San Diego Pride, we come together to reconnect to those roots at the Spirit of Stonewall Rally, where we get to honor the folks in our midst that are doing the work and come together to take action.  This year’s Keynote Speaker is Kierra Johnson (they/she), Executive Director of the National LGBTQ Task Force. I am lucky enough to have known Kierra since 2012, when we first met in reproductive justice organizing spaces. They are an absolutely brilliant leader who is able to beautifully combine passion with compassion and strategy with radically imaginative vision.  Chairwoman Erica Pinto of the Jamul Indian Village will offer an acknowledgment of the unceded Indigenous territories on which we celebrate. The Rally’s featured speakers include two folks who also happen to be members of groups receiving Spirit of Stonewall Awards this year. Ady Huertas (she/her) is a librarian (lesbrarian) at San Diego Public Library, will remind us what is at stake when LGBTQIA+ books are banned and challenged. Hon. Christine Kehoe (she/her), San Diego County’s first out LGBTQIA+ elected official and part of San Diego Pride’s Founding Leadership, will give remarks about the history (and future!) of San Diego’s LGBTQIA+ movement.  Our Pride celebrations began as a protest. Pride is still a protest, and our work is not yet done. I hope you will join us as we rally together in action, in celebration of the progress we’ve made, in support of those who are making history now, in working toward liberation, and in radically imaginative vision for what we can build together.  In Solidarity, Jen LaBarbera (they/them) Interim Co-Executive Director Full newsletter >> mailchi.mp/sdpride/2824

Dear Pride Family, In navigating the complexities of celebrating Juneteenth within a world still entangled in the remnants of its past, and amidst the hollow promises of progress adorned with the veneer of inclusivity, I, at the crossroads of my queerness, transness, and blackness, find myself all too familiar with this internal conflict. It's a struggle often veiled behind smiles and humor, serving as armor against the pervasive anti-blackness and censorship in white-dominated spaces. How, then, can I carve out a space that honors the legacy of my ancestors while embracing my full self? For me, the answer lies in the solidarity and camaraderie found within communities that share a commitment to liberation. Juneteenth embodies the resilience of spirit, a testament to our refusal to be bound by the chains of oppression. It's a day marked not just by historical significance but by the ongoing journey of liberation that reverberates through generations. Let us use this time not only for reflection on the pains, struggles, and traumas of the past but also as a celebration of the resilience, joy, and lightness we've preserved and cultivated. Juneteenth serves as a beacon of hope, a reminder that our collective efforts continue to shape history and propel us towards a future where freedom and justice reign supreme. In this spirit, stand in hope and solidarity with our colleagues at San Diego Black Pride. With Pride, Shane James (they/them/theirs) Programs Coordinator - San Diego Black Pride celebrates and honors our marginalized communities daily. We relegate our uniqueness to centering our Unity in Color, Joy, and Black Excellence. Pride and Juneteenth celebrations not only honor our marginalized communities' resistance while underscoring a troubling truth about how we show up in society: Historically the United States perpetuates the ongoing exacerbation of racism, transphobia, and queerphobia in the United States. For most of us, Juneteenth was an annual block party that folks couldn't wait to happen. Aunties, uncles, papas, and grandmas would cook their favorite food to share with the entire block. We set up the "good" BBQ grill, usually the big ole' barrel grill. The kids frolicked and played games, and the grown folks had a competitive game of "Bid Wiz. Juneteenth means freedom, love, unity, validation, and more. It also commemorates General Order No. 3. June 19, 1865—the day all people living in the United States, including the formerly enslaved, were officially granted freedom. We have come a long way but still have so much more to do, especially for our Black queer siblings and families. SDBP thanks the community for embracing us. We forgive and love those who still do not fully accept us. We are still here; we are not going anywhere, period. For SDBP, Juneteenth validates our history, freedom, choices, and love of self. With gratitude and appreciation, Your San Diego Black Pride Full newsletter >> mailchi.mp/sdpride/2724

Jen LaBarbera, Interim Co-Executive Director of San Diego Pride, joined Main St. Living to discuss San Diego Pride events and the impact they'll have on the community. See the full interview below at https://lnkd.in/gbQpPF_u

A BIG congratulations to the San Diego Pride Board Members and Staff who were honored last night at the @sdbusinessjournal LGBTQ+ Leaders of Influence ceremony in association with @sdebalgbtqchamber ! We're feeling lucky to have these leaders in our organization. Happy Pride Month 🌈 Melissa Malone-Montgomery ,Rebecca Lee, Ed.D , Brian Zotti , Oleene Perera , Andrew Picard , Jen LaBarbera , Sarafina Scapicchio, MSW, CNP

Dear Pride Family, “Making History Now” is the theme for this year’s 50th anniversary of San Diego Pride and is a perfect description of Light Up The Cathedral For Pride. The Interfaith service has its roots in outreach, but it has become a beacon of hope, love in a celebration that features LGBTQIA+ affirming interfaith clergy, readings and faith-inspired music in the safe space of St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral. It is a unique official event and partnership with San Diego Pride that offers interfaith inclusivity with LGBTQIA+ community and faith leaders from throughout San Diego County. Light Up The Cathedral For Pride continues on “Making History Now”.   9 years ago, Dean Penny Bridges had a vision for the Cathedral community that was a forward-thinking approach for outreach to the LGBTQIA+ community during Pride week. Because the Pride Parade ends across the street from the church, and the 2-day festival takes place two blocks away, Dean Penny believed that lighting the exterior of the Cathedral edifice in rainbow colors would make a statement of support and affirmation to the thousands of people who pass by our location during the week. A generous donor caught her vision and in July 2015, the Cathedral was bathed in color, the first Cathedral anywhere in the USA to light up its entire facade for Pride. And so it started, with LGBTQIA+ community leaders and the congregation attending a blessing service outside in the Queen’s Courtyard. Many of our local elected officials attend annually. In the most recent national polling, over 63% of LGBTQIA+ people identify a faith practice. Many LGBTQIA+ people are seeking a safe place to embrace their authentic spiritual self and have been afraid to enter a house of worship. Thanks to San Diego Pride’s visionary and courageous leadership, the community partnership with St. Paul’s Cathedral( a first of its kind anywhere in the USA) has enabled us to identify and  bring together and organize over 100 affirming interfaith clergy. The Light Up The Cathedral program participants represent affirming diverse congregations of Christian, Jewish Rabbis, Priests, Universalists, Buddhists, and Humanists including our Episcopal Diocese Bishop Susan Brown Snook. It unites the interfaith leaders with our LGBTQIA+ community under one roof- singing, praying, worshiping and celebrating together our beloved status as children of God. Each year we highlight a ministry or faith organization that has shown exemplary work in and service to the fight for equality and dignity of LGBTQIA+ people. This year the “Light of PRIDE” award will be spotlighting the Buddhist Dharma Bum Temple and its founder Bodhi Cari Jeff Zlotnik. Please join us on July 17 at 7pm- whoever you are, wherever you are on your journey, you are welcome and beloved and free to be YOU at Light Up the Cathedral For Pride! With Pride, Susan Jester (she/her) Licensed Lay Minister of Evangelism St. Paul's Cathedral Full newsletter >> mailchi.mp/sdpride/2624

Dear Pride Family, Para los 49 ángeles que solo querían escuchar música, bailar, y estar con la familia elegida…que sus memoria sea una bendición. On the night of June 11, 2016, my wife and I went to Uptown Tavern in Hillcrest with friends of ours, one of whom I learned that night used to be the General Manager of one of my favorite (now closed) gay bars, Bourbon Street. We danced, we laughed, we screamed jokes into each other’s ears until we cried with laughter. On our way home, we talked about how it was probably one of the best nights out that we had had in a while.  The next morning, shortly after waking up, my heart sank as I read an alert on my phone that described in detail a shooting that had taken place at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando leaving 49 people dead. The emotions that followed were: panic and heartbreak. Panic knowing that my wife’s brother (who is also gay) lived in Orlando and was a patron of Pulse. Heartbreak trying to process that 49 people had been doing what we had been doing the night before and lost their lives in the process. On the evening of June 12, 2016 without even 24 hours having gone by since the shooting took place, our community gathered to show our solidarity with Orlando that included a candlelight vigil at the Pride flag in Hillcrest. With the help of the Hillcrest Business Association, Lambda Archives’ then-Head Archivist, Jen LaBarbera stepped up to ensure that we collected any signs or other ephemera from the event to preserve them at Lambda. One of those items was a poster left at the Pride flag in Hillcrest that evening, which came from the Monarch School - a public K-12 school that serves students who experience homelessness in San Diego County. The 10-foot long poster was hand-drawn, painted, and included personal messages to the victims - most of which came from children making it particularly emotionally resonant.  Part of our role as an LGBTQIA+ community archive is to collect items that contextualize ourselves as individuals and as a community; in doing so, it helps to understand ourselves in the moment and how intimately connected we are and how tragedies like the Pulse nightclub shooting impact all queer people, regardless of location. Collecting and maintaining items from the Pride flagpole at the candlelight vigil for Pulse that night wasn’t simply a hollow act of “collecting stuff.” It was an intentional action focused on keeping our memory of those who were lost alive and captures how our local community showed up to remember them. By preserving this part of our history, we are able to create meaning between our individual lived experiences, the historical importance of gay bars as sites of organizing and resistance, and a tragedy that claimed the lives of 49 people that just wanted to listen to music, dance, and gather with their chosen family. May their memory be eternal.  Nicole Verdes (they/she) Managing Director Lambda Archives of San Diego Full newsletter >> mailchi.mp/sdpride/2524

San Diego Pride was thrilled to join our fabulous partner San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS)- to kick-off Pride Month at the unveiling of the Ride With Pride bus featuring a #LGBTQIA+ Pride flag. This partnership will help make getting to the San Diego Pride Parade (July 20) and Festival (July 20-21) easier and more affordable than ever before! The new bus wrap will operate on the system starting June 5. Find out more about how to use public transportation from MTS to get to the festivities at https://lnkd.in/gMMXEtuW Happy Pride month San Diego Pride and MTS and Ride with Pride in June and July!