What’s up y’all, it’s Emile Ennis Jr. with Clevver News, and to commemorate the
50th anniversary of Pride month, LGBTQ celebrities are coming together to stand in support of
the Black Lives Matter movement.
As we continue the fight for justice among the Black community, it’s important to take
this time to celebrate and also stand in solidarity of another community that has been deeply
impacted by social injustice.
Every year, the month of June marks Pride Month, but the last two week’s devastating
events following the murder of George Floyd haven’t exactly been a call for any type
of “celebration”.
Instead of walking in a parade, members of the LGTBQ community are standing in support
of the Black Community, some even walking together in the LGBTQ+ For #BlackLivesMatter
protests.
Throughout the month of June, Pride events will be taking place, including the combined
protest, which is set to go down on June 14th, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the
first peaceful Pride protest in Los Angeles.
The LA Pride official Instagram account released a statement saying QUOTE, “While we had
previously cancelled all in-person events due to COVID-19, we have decided to peacefully
assemble a protest in Hollywood, where the first ever permitted Pride Parade took place,
in solidarity with the Black community.”
The post went on to add, “We feel that it is our moral imperative to honor the legacies
of Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, who bravely led the Stonewall uprising, by standing
in solidarity with the Black community against systemic racism and joining the fight for
meaningful and long-lasting reform.”
Last week, thousands of people, including celebrities came out in support of both the
LGBTQ and Black communities for the first of many combined protests.
Riverdale star Lili Reinhart was one of many to announce that she would be participating
in the protest, and in a surprising turn of events, Lili also announced that she identifies
as bisexual.
She took to Instagram stories to raise awareness about the protest, writing, “Although I’ve
never announced it publicly before, I am a proud bisexual woman.
And I will be joining this protest today.
Come join.”
Thousands of positive comments began flooding her social media feeds, with comments like,
“Lili Reinhart coming out as bi is one of the only things about this year that has made
me happy.”
Alongside Lili stood her Riverdale costars and allies Camila Mendes and Madelaine Petsch,
who both shared footage of Janaya Future Khan as she gave a powerful speech about social
injustice.
Cara Delevingne has always been an advocate for the LGBTQ community, but also came out
as pansexual in a recent interview with Variety that she identifies as pansexual.
She said QUOTE, “I always will remain, I think, pansexual.
However one defines themselves, whether it’s ‘they’ or ‘he’ or ‘she,’ I fall
in love with the person -- and that’s that.
I’m attracted to the person.”
She has been seen at multiple protests throughout the week, more recently walking alongside
rapper Machine Gun Kelly and Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker, in an LA-based Black Lives
Matter protest.
MGK held up a sign saying, “Stop arresting protesters, arrest killer cops!” while Travis’
sign said, “No justice, no peace.”
YouTube beauty guru Nikita Dragun also proudly showed her support for the Black community,
as she shared photos of herself protesting in an Instagram post with the caption, “No
justice.
No peace.
No longer silent.
We must protect our black brothers and sisters!
The systemic oppression and racism in this country has gone on for far too long.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.”
She also paid tribute to black trans advocate Marsha P. Johnson, who threw the first brick
at Stonewall, and spent her entire life fighting for LGBT rights.
Nikita went on to say, “Remember her.
the community would not be here without her.
The first pride was a riot. we must stand with our black brothers and sisters.
enough is enough.
nothing will change if we don’t.”
As a biracial member of the Black community, as well as an open advocate for the LGBTQ
community, Halsey has made her stance very clear on the social injustice people of color
have been experiencing.
Not only has she been protesting throughout the past week, but she and rapper Yungblud
were spotted bringing medical supplies to the streets for those who have been affected
by police brutality.
In a lengthy Instagram post, she wrote, “With all of our medical professionals being CONSUMED
and EXHAUSTED with Covid, there is little to no medical attention available.
I have first hand treated men, women and children who have been shot in the chest, the face,
the back.
I have been covered in innocent blood.
My father is a black man.
My mother is an EMT.
This week I had to put those two associations together in ways that have horrified me.”
She also tweeted about the severity of the rubber bullets and the physical damage they
can do to innocent people, saying QUOTE, “Do not underplay these rubber bullets bc you
have been told they are ‘not lethal’.
I had to bandage a man who looked like his entire face had exploded today.
So before you say, from the comfort of your home, that we’re exaggerating, please consider
the injuries some have suffered.”
Based on the images shared to social media, police seem to have no mercy even for peaceful
protesters, I do just want to quickly say, please be careful, wear a mask and always
be aware of your surroundings when protesting.
Not only are celebrities promoting equality for both the LGBTQ and Black communities,
but companies like Grindr, a dating app for gay, bi, trans and queer people, announced
that it would be removing its “ethnicity filter” as part of its support for the Black
Lives Matter movement.
It is small steps like these, along with the support and participation of thousands of
people, that will ultimately make the biggest impact within our society.
And with our platform, we here at Clevver also stand against all injustices experienced
by members of the black community and stand with George Floyd and the many other black
people who have tragically lost their lives due to the color of their skin.
We’ve linked some resources and places to donate down in the description below and we
will continue to cover these stories and take part in these conversations.
Speaking of conversations, click right over here to hear why we here at CLEVVER stand
up against injustice.
And feel free to share all your thoughts on the LGBTQ for Black Lives Matter movement
down here in the comments below.
I’m your host Emile Ennis Jr., bye guys.