Pride Live isn’t letting the COVID-19 pandemic cancel Stonewall Day.
The third annual Stonewall Day celebration remembers the 1969 uprising by the LGBTQ community responding to a police raid in New York’s Greenwich Village that signaled a turning point in the gay liberation movement. It will take place virtually instead of physically at the iconic Stonewall Inn this Friday, June 26, coincidentally the same date the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples could legally marry in every state in 2015.
Former President Barack Obama will deliver a special address to the LGBTQ community as well as Taylor Swift, Demi Lovato, Katy Perry and more pop stars. Hayley Kiyoko and Kesha are set to perform during the live stream. Funds raised during the two-hour live show will benefit LGBTQ organizations that have been financially impacted by coronavirus, including Brave Space Alliance, TransLatin Coalition, Trans Lifeline and The Ally Coalition.
“From Marsha P. Johnson’s revolution at Stonewall, to the recent murders of Dominique Fells and Riah Milton, the protection of trans people of color continues to be the litmus test of freedom and equal opportunities,” Dr. Yvette Burton, the board director of Pride Live, said in a press release. “Policies such as the Trump administration’s reversed protections for transgender people in the U.S. health-care system, adds the disproportionate effect of fatal violence, impacted by the intersections of racism, sexism, homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia across communities and families.”
Celebrate Stonewall Day 2020 on Logo’s YouTube (video below) and Facebook pages from 12:45 p.m. to 3 p.m. ET on Friday, June 26.
