The Stonewall Riots mark one of the most dramatic moments of activism for social progress and human rights in the modern history of the United States. It is no accident that President Obama often returned to the mantra ‘Seneca Falls, Selma, Stonewall.’ The queer folks and (especially) the street kids and non-binary people of color who decided they were not going to take it anymore in the police raid at the Stonewall provided the explosion from which the Gay Liberation movement and subsequent LGBT+ rights organizing took alight.
With this in mind, the recent endorsement by Miss Major, a Stonewall Riots veteran and legendary queer activist at the helm of trans and broader LGBT+ activism, marks a major vote of confidence for Bernie Sanders’s campaign.
In what little LGBT-specific polling that has existed in this primary season, LGBT+ voters have consistently backed the progressive candidates in the race — first aligning behind Elizabeth Warren and then shifting to strong support for Bernie, who won 40% of the LGBT vote on Super Tuesday according to exit polls.
Representing a reliable and reliably progressive constituency of the Democratic base, LGBT+ voters seem to be following the example of our elders — remembering that demands for radical structural change (not piecemeal or centrist ‘solutions’) are what have historically resulted in the necessary (if yet incomplete) progress towards a society in which we can all live as ourselves with dignity.
I hope that LGBT+ voters in upcoming states reflect deeply on the decision of elders like Miss Major, to whom we owe soooooooo much, to back Bernie and his calls for a progressive coalition for change as they cast their vote in upcoming primaries. As Harvey Milk taught us — it's when all the ‘others’ join together in coalition that we can leverage the power to make the changes that benefit all of us.
‘Sitting in her home surrounded by perfume bottles, polished knick-knacks and unicorn figurines, Miss Major Griffin-Gracy delivered Monday a brief but sharply worded video message to her followers: “Go Bernie!”'
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.pinknews.co.uk/2020/03/03/miss-major-griffin-gracy-bernie-sanders-2020-democratic-presidential-race/amp/
***Diary composed on phone — Please forgive formatting peculiarities, etc...