June 2020

Berkshire Stonewall Community Coalition stands today and always with Black and Brown communities in deploring the ongoing murder of Black people by police, law enforcement and self-appointed vigilantes, and we stand against systemic racism in all its forms.

LGBTQ+ Pride Month and LGBTQ+ liberation only exist because of the activism and uprising of trans and queer people of color, at the Stonewall Riots and beyond. Despite this, the LGBTQ+ movement has struggled for decades with white supremacy and exclusion. We call on our white LGBTQ+ members to confront that past and change it. For ourselves, Berkshire Stonewall is in the process of creating short and long-term goals to better serve and support Berkshire LGBTQ+ communities of color, including making changes to our programming, partnerships, and board membership. We welcome all thoughts and suggestions at info@berkshirestonewall.org.

We mourn the hundreds of murdered trans and other LGBTQ+ people of color. We support our local Black and Brown LGBTQ+ leaders and we call for systemic change in our society. Liberation is a central value of the LGBTQ+ movement, and we will continue to be in the streets defending the rights of all people, especially LGBTQ+ folks in the Berkshires.