It’s the end of Pride Month, but far from the end of our pride. Last year at this time, our pride was celebratory. This year, it is resolute.
The shooting in Orlando shook our sense of safety, especially, perhaps, for LGBTQ people of color, who were the majority of the Orlando victims. While we mourned, though, we also found strength, turning out for Pride parades in record numbers: in New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Miami, and places less associated with LGBTQ life, like Columbus, Knoxville, and St. Louis.
I am reminded of a saying most often seen on patriotic bumper stickers with an American flag: “These colors don’t run.” Neither do those of our rainbow. They dance. They march. They sing. And they keep going.
Happy Pride, now and always.