Freedom Oklahoma Supports Oklahoma City Pride Alliance
WHEREAS, Freedom Oklahoma is a statewide advocacy organization that works to achieve legal protections and lived equality for LGBTQ2S+ Oklahoma residents; and
WHEREAS, Pride is known around the world as an annual commemoration of the 1969 Stonewall Riots in which Transgender people of color and other Black and POC members of the LGBTQ2S+ community fought against rampant police violence; and
WHEREAS, the annual commemoration of the Stonewall Riots is both critical to the fight for lived equality and an annual reminder of how much work stands between LGBTQ2S+ communities and liberation; and
WHEREAS, the struggle for liberation is ongoing particularly and specifically for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) in our communities; and
WHEREAS, the struggle for liberation is ongoing particularly and specifically for Transgender, nonbinary, and gender non-conforming people in our communities; and
WHEREAS, The Oklahoma City Pride Alliance in 2019 produced the largest pride parade and festival in the history of Oklahoma City; and
WHEREAS, the 2019 Pride Alliance parade and festival produced by the Oklahoma City Pride Alliance worked to be inclusive of BIPOC and Transgender communities and was produced with regard for accessibility and income inequality; and
WHEREAS, the Oklahoma City Pride Alliance recognizes that anti-racist work and liberation work is onging, and plans to continue for the foreseeable future to expand upon their work to create pride celebrations in Oklahoma City that are inclusive and respectful and celebrates ALL members of Oklahoma City’s LGBTQ2S+ communities; and
WHEREAS, Pride is neither owned nor is it ownable, but rather a commemoration and celebration of the collective joy, struggle, resilience, and courage of LGBTQ2S+ communities; and
WHEREAS, LGBTQ2S+ culture is vibrant, beautiful, and worthy of celebration; and
WHEREAS, LGBTQ2S+ culture can and must be showcased and celebrated without suppression throughout the City of Oklahoma City; and
WHEREAS, Oklahoma’s LGBTQ2S+ communities are not a monolithic entity, whose diversity must not only be recognized but celebrated; and
WHEREAS, it is incumbent upon each of us to listen and respond swiftly and responsibly to concerns of our diverse and vibrant communities and that racism, transphobia, and misogyny have no place in our communities; and
WHEREAS, it is the sacred duty of each LGBTQ2S+ person to be responsible and active stewards of our movement for liberation, to embrace and protect our young people and to hand them a better, more inclusive world than the one we currently inhabit; be it therefore
RESOLVED, the Board of Directors and Staff of Freedom Oklahoma unequivocally and proudly support the Oklahoma City Pride Alliance organization and commemorate their dedication to working toward building community spaces that are inclusive and liberation-based in Oklahoma City.