As we are about to march again together, we strengthen our vow to continue struggling for our rights as members of the society.
Our struggles as LGBT people are no different from the struggles of every sector in our society, and we must pursue these with concerted efforts to create united stands and actions to achieve our goals and put an end to all forms of discrimination.
We also continue to remember the great contributions of LGBT people before us; their courage have ignited many hearts and minds to stand for what is right and just. We will never forget the likes of Willem Arondeus who saw beyond our sector’s plight and led the people to a battle for freedom against the Nazis in 1943. We will never forget how Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, two transgender women of color who instigated the #StonewallRiot in 1969, started the riot that gave birth to the first Pride March as a protest against discrimination and violence towards the LGBT community.
These are just some of the many great involvements of our LGBT forerunners. Their legacy led us to where we are right now, but we still have a lot of work to do.
Locally, we still have to fight for the Anti-Discrimination Law, and the Supreme Court is still discussing marriage equality. These two battles remain, and we need all the support we can get to win them. We need all the strength from within our community and our allies so we can champion these. With this, we vow to never stop fighting. We vow to never get tired. We vow to keep fighting until we achieve victory.
Brothers and sisters in the community, we have won many battles. We have proven our courage and strength. Today, we must again prove to the world that we are united, and we will never back down from any challenges. And we will continue to #RiseUpTogether and create a society with no people facing oppression.
