#BlackLivesMatter

A Letter to Our Community As a Queer & Non-Binary People of Color led youth-centered organization, Rainbow Pride Youth Alliance we grieve for the loss of Black lives taken — for Ahmaud Arbery, Rekia Boyd, George Floyd, Tony McDade, Laquan McDonald, Nina Pop, Breonna Taylor and the countless others who had no one to witness their end. Today we also acknowledge that we have been here before, we remember Tyisha Miller and say enough is enough. All of these incidents are stark reminders of why we must speak out when the police, the state, the prison industrial complex, and the systemic racism of this nation claim — too often with impunity — Black Lives. We all must come together to address anti-Blackness in ALL of our communities. At this moment, re-imagining and re-making youth-led, multigenerational spaces in which healthy dialogue, community-engaged education, and civic engagement create equitable environments for Queer/Trans youth and youth of color to thrive in is essential. Rainbow Pride remains committed to our mission to provide a safe, healthy, and enriching environment for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, and intersex (LGBTQI) youth of the Inland Empire… We believe in and are inspired by the foundational principles of the Movement for Black Lives; “All Black Lives Matter: Queer Black Lives, Trans Black Lives, Femme Black Lives, Non-Binary Black Lives, Incarcerated Black Lives, Formerly Incarcerated Black Lives, Working Class Black lives, Black Sex Workers Lives, Differently Abled Black Lives, Black Women’s Lives, Immigrant Black Lives, Black Elderly Lives, Black Youth Lives.” ALL BLACK LIVES MATTER!!! Period. We stand in support of Black Queer & Transgender organizers and QTPOC who are on the front lines of our movement in the Inland Empire and nationally, leading direct actions, and therefore, as organizers, we fight with them. We stand with all of them in solidarity, in service, and in action and we ask that you stand with them as well.